KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Leaders in the Kansas City area are sharing messages of support for the Colorado Springs community following a gay nightclub shooting Saturday night that killed five and injured 25 others.
The LGBTQ Commission of Kansas City acknowledged the “hate-fueled violence” of Saturday’s incident as part of a “divisive anti-LGBTQ+ movement that’s happening in our country and right here in our community.”
As an organization, they plan to advocate for action and policy change.
“Every politician that spews anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric bears responsibility for the Colorado Springs shooting,” the commission said in a statement. “Every politician who says that guns aren’t the problem bears responsibility for the Colorado Springs shooting.”
READ THE LGBTQ COMMISSION OF KC'S FULL STATEMENT HERE
KCMO City Councilwoman Andrea Bough, 6th District at Large, shared the LGBTQ Commission’s statement, saying she agrees with their stance.
“Frankly, I just don’t have the words as my heart continues to break as we see acts of violence and hate continue,” Bough said on Twitter.
In the same vein, KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas also spoke to the ramifications of the loss and how the pain of this tragedy extends beyond Colorado.
“Hate of people for who they are. Guns. We must call out hate and the people who spread and profit from it,” Lucas said via social media. “We must keep working so mass shootings aren’t routine.”
There are more lives lost today and more people hurting, not just in Colorado but people the world over.
— Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) November 20, 2022
Hate of people for who they are.
Guns.
We must call out hate and the people who spread and profit from it.
We must keep working so mass shootings aren’t routine.
The city of KCMO shared just three words in a nod of support to the LGBTQ community: “You are loved.”
Waking up to the news of the shooting made an already somber day heavier for the Kansas City Pride Community Alliance.
"Today, November 20, 2022, is a day of remembrance: Transgender Day of Remembrance. A day to reflect, grieve and pay respect to the transgender members of our community that we have lost due to violence," the alliance said in a statement. "Instead, we awoke to the news of violence in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ space."
KC Pride goes on to offer condolences to all involved as they "grieve for those that prematurely lost their lives to this senseless act of violence."
READ KC PRIDE COMMUNITY ALLIANCE'S FULL STATEMENT HERE
Late Sunday night, Fountain Haus in Westport hosted a vigil for the community to light candles and honor the lives tragically lost.
Fountain Haus posted that a larger-scale fundraiser will be held Dec. 4 to benefit the victims' families.
On the Kansas side, Rep. Sharice Davids serves as co-chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus, which released a statement expressing sadness along with the need to take "action to address the twin epidemics of hate and gun violence in this country."
“I am horrified and devastated by the news out of Colorado Springs this morning. LGBTQ+ clubs are often a place of refuge and affirmation for our community, yet once again what should have been a safe space became the target of a violent and deadly attack,” said chair David Cicilline. “My heart is with the victims of this horrific shooting, their family and friends, Club Q’s staff and patrons, and the entire LGBTQ+ community in Colorado Springs and around the country.”
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