On the 19 of November, a horrifying attack on countless queer lives was perpetuated by the 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich at a local gay club (Club Q) in Colorado Springs. The suspect carried an "AR-style platform" long gun along with multiple magazines with ammunition, entered the bar's premises, and opened fire on the crowd injuring nearly two dozen people and killing five: Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance, Derrick Rump, and Ashley Green Paugh. The first calls to the police were made around 11:57 am with the police arriving 3 minutes later, not before Richard Fierro (a veteran), and Thomas James intercepted Aldrich, took away their gun, and a transgender woman stomped on Aldrich's head with her high heel to knock them out.
I would like to clear something out before I continue, Aldrich recently stated in their first public appearance that they go by they/them pronouns, so I will continue to refer to them as such. It is up to you if you want to do it, I can't force you to do anything. With that being said I'll continue naming a couple of issues I've seen people throw around regarding this case.
The first thing I've seen people debate on about this topic has been whether or not it was a bias-motivated attack, meaning whether or not this crime was committed with the intention of killing people because they are queer, or if they just wanted to kill people and the first place they thought of shooting up was a gay club.
The second is whether or not this event could have been avoided. People have found out that Aldrich has been previously arrested for a bomb threat at their mother's house; their mother reported that they were “threatening to cause harm to her with a homemade bomb, multiple weapons, and ammunition,”, the sheriff’s crisis negotiations unit tried to get them out of the house for hours, once they did they were immediately arrested. Upon searching the house no explosives were found.
Lastly, I would like to mention something that has been personally bugging me about this case: Aldrich stating that they go by they/them pronouns. I don't mean I am weirded out by them identifying as non-binary, it's more the timing of it all. How can you shoot up a queer club, kill 5 people and then come out and say that you yourself are a queer person? I've seen the kind of people they have been surrounded by their whole life, for example, their father (who is an extremely hateful man who when made aware of the crime Aldrich had committed was more worried about them not being queer rather than the fact that they had killed 5 people), and I could see where a queer person who is in a horrible condition in regards to their mental health could grow up with this immense hate toward themselves because they are the direct representation of what everyone around you hates and fears, but I'm still suspicious on whether or not this was a strategy by their part to not be horribly convicted or if it is actually true.
At the end of the day, I would say the bigger issues here are homophobia and mental health. The LGBTQIA+ community has been constantly targeted by violent attacks like this one. Spaces created for the comfort of queer people are being destroyed by hatred and this has to stop, and the way I think mental health plays a role, in this case, is by the perpetrator, Aldrich, who had already threatened someone's life before this, that being their mother, the police came and left, no help was offered. This is the case of someone who is not mentally ok and needs help but isn't getting it.
Finally, I would like to ask you, what you think about this case. Do you feel like this was bias-motivated, or just a mere coincidence? Do you think mental health played a bigger role in this? and lastly, Do you think that Aldrich stating that they go by they/them pronouns will affect his conviction in any way?
More information about the shooting:
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/21/1138131985/what-we-know-colorado-springs-lgbtq-club-shooting
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/20/us/colorado-springs-shooting-gay-nightclub
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/21/us/colorado-springs-club-q-shooting-monday
Aldrich's father's statement:
May Daniel Aston, Kelly Loving, Raymond Green Vance, Derrick Rump, and Ashley Green Paugh rest in peace.
Replies
I think that a big part of most shootings come from mental health problems. It can make a person do a lot of bad things if they have terrible mental health sometimes. The shooter did target that club.
Exactly, most cases of mass shooters have some correlation with mental health issues. I'm pretty sure this has something to do with the way we still stigmatize it until this day and how getting help or treatment is very hard. I've also realized how most mass shooters (like the one in this case)have been men and I think this might be bringing up another big issue, the patriarchy, which also oppresses men. You guys are expected to be strong, I would say almost emotionless, so when a man is struggling with their mental health they won't say it because they are "not supposed to have those issues" and therefore not seeking help or ignoring it completely. I hope we can change this with future generations since all these types of events keep proving time and time again just how big of an issue this really is.
I believe that mental health played a big part in this, if someone is willing to bomb their own grandma then they need help. but I also think this was biased and they targeted the club. I feel that they came out as non-binary to make it seem less of a hate crime and more of just I wanted to shoot people crime.
I agree with your last comment, there is no way they targeted that club just because, this was a hate crime. Since some people still think of sexuality as taboo or as a sensitive topic, it might make them uncomfortable to talk about this case because they don't agree with their queerness or because they are scared they are going to make a decision that might hurt the queer community. Aldrich'S identity will affect the case, there just isn't any way it won't.
I think that shooting normally stem from mental health and I belive that this one is no different. I also think that this was bias motivated.
I think that a big part of these types of shootings is about the persons mental health. Mental health plays a large part with peoples actions. While I do think that it is important that he (they) goes by their pro nouns, I think people are giving to much simpathy to him (them) because of the wrong use of pro nouns.
I think that shootings are a very dangerous thing. I think some points could be bias and others a coincidence. I think metal health plays a big part in everyone lives and they should focus on themsleves. I am not sure on the last question.
In my opinion, I believe that their poor mental health was one of the many reasons they did this horrific thing. I think that it is important that everyone can get the help they need so we can't prevent cases like this. That is why universal health care would greatly benefit the United States.
You've made a great point, mental health is such a big problem that keeps being ignored by everyone, and even when it is available it isn't easily to access, it is expensive or unhelpful. This is a systemic issue that we should address more.
I feel like they were biased and intended to shoot up a lgbtq bar out of hate because of their father's hate for the lgbtq. I think that their mental health had a massive part in this case, their father most likely hated the lgbtq so much that Aldrich had that thought engraved in their head.
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