For two decades, Club Q was the center of gravity for the region’s LGBTQ+ community and provided a place to organize, share resources and, most of all, take refuge. “It is the mecca of this area. Everyone felt safe there. Everyone could go there and be themselves and not have something like this happen,” said Jessica Laney, an organizer with Pikes Peak Pride, referring to the 20 November shooting that killed five people and injured dozens more. “Club Q had their finger on the pulse of everything going on in the queer community in Colorado Springs and Denver and beyond.” Club Q ran the city’s annual Pride event for a number of years, Laney said, and the owners were always willing to support other efforts, such as donating to a nonprofit providing housing to homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
And in the conservative city of Colorado Springs, Club Q’s identity as a safe haven and a shield from the area’s heavy evangelical and military presence cannot be overstated. It was a place where many could drop their guard and gather for holiday meals, bingo nights and family events, birthing a thriving community centered around inclusion. “It was our safe place. It was our home,” said Greg Resha, a resident DJ at the club for 10 years. “It was a place where you can be yourself, you can hold someone’s hand without being judged or hurt for it – that’s what Club Q means in Colorado Springs. For a lot of people it is the only place they can go for 75 miles. To have our safe place violated like that – it’s just horrible.”
That sense of safety, some say, is gone and has left a wound and fear as the community mourns the victims, and praises those who tackled and stopped Anderson Aldrich before additional people were shot. Online court records show Aldrich, who has identified in legal papers as non-binary, is facing five murder charges and five charges of committing a bias-motivated crime causing bodily injury, as investigations into the circumstances of the shooting – and what motivated it – continue.
“Gay or straight it was one of the best clubs in the state,” said Resha, who also worked as a drag performer. “People come not because it is a gay bar – they come because it is an awesome bar.” Resha described years and years of camaraderie, and a family that had grown to include people who may have just had their first experience with the LGBTQ+ community. He added that Club Q was a hub for many young members of the LGTBQ+ community who had been rejected by their families, social circles or employers. Resha even used the Club Q building as his wedding venue – shortly after same-sex marriage was recognized in Colorado, in 2014. “The best day of my life was at Club Q,” he said, describing the Alice in Wonderland-themed celebration. Resha described Derrick Rump, one of the bartenders who was shot and killed on Saturday, as “just the heart of Club Q, and in a way the heart of the community. It’s terrifying to know he’s disappeared.” But just as terrible as the past week has been, Resha said, “it has been just as beautiful with the response.”
The LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs is no stranger to adversity and having to fight for its rights, said longtime local activist Carolyn Cathey. “Change progresses slowly,” she acknowledged. But many have described the current climate as particularly toxic and fueled by baseless but very dangerous conspiracy theories. “I am sad and scared about where this nation is going,” said Club Q co-owner Nic Grzecka at a vigil. “What happened to us this weekend as a community is happening around the nation. These politics are tearing our gay communities apart. You see what’s happening in New York with bricks thrown at bars. This is not good. This is not safe. Our politicians are helping drive this narrative and they can also help stop it.”
According to a recent poll from Glaad, the media monitoring and advocacy group, 72% of transgender respondents and 48% of the overall LGBTQ+ community say the current political environment makes them fear for their personal safety.
Rawr
Article URL : https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/29/club-q-colorado-springs-lgbtq-community