Lauren Boebert condemned for Colorado Springs shooting response: ‘You encourage hate’
Republican Lauren Boebert posts empty Colorado tribute after months of stirring up anti-LGBTQ+ hate (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Lauren Boebert has been criticised for posting a tribute to the Colorado Springs shooting victims after months of stirring up anti-LGBTQ+ hate.
Five people were killed and 18 injured after a gunman opened fire in Club Q, an LGBTQ+ venue in Colorado Springs, on Saturday (19 November).
More may have been killed were it not for the heroic actions of customers who subdued the gunman, named as Anderson Lee Aldrich. Two of the victims have been named as bartenders Daniel Davis Aston and Derrick Rump.
As America, and the world, reels from the senseless act of violence, Republican representative for Colorado and gun advocate Lauren Boebert posted a tribute to Twitter.
“This morning, the victims and their families are in my prayers… This lawless violence needs to end, and end quickly.”
Her words sparked anger from many who linked the shooting to anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric like that repeatedly spouted by Boebert.
In recent months, the Republican has touted “groomer” theories, claiming gay people should be legally forced to stay in the closet until 21, and attacked trans women taking part in women’s sports.
The news out of Colorado Springs is absolutely awful.
This morning the victims & their families are in my prayers.
This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly.
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) November 20, 2022
Chasten Buttigieg, husband of the US secretary for transportation Pete Buttigieg, accused Boebert of “encouraging” anti-LGBTQ+ hatred.
“You encourage this type of hatred. Get off Twitter and start looking inward,” he wrote.
You encourage this type of hatred. Get off Twitter and start looking inward.— Chasten Buttigieg (@Chasten) November 20, 2022
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Lauren Boebert had played a “major role in elevating anti-LGBT+ hate rhetoric”.
.@laurenboebert you have played a major role in elevating anti-LGBT+ hate rhetoric and anti-trans lies while spending your time in Congress blocking even the most common sense gun safety laws.
You don’t get to “thoughts and prayers” your way out of this. Look inward and change. https://t.co/mxt6wFMVEv— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) November 20, 2022
Another Twitter user wrote: “You can take your thoughts and prayers and shove them up your a**.
“You’re part of the problem causing this by stoking anti-LGBTQ hate and fighting against meaningful gun reform.”
California senator Scott Wiener drew attention to Boebert’s previous opposition to drag events and bars, claiming that she is against the very events targeted in the horrific shooting.
He said on Twitter: “You regularly pour lighter fluid on anti-LGBTQ+ hate and help fuel this kind of violence.
“This bar was literally scheduled to host a drag brunch this morning – the exact people you regularly demonize as harming children. You’re complicit.”
You regularly pour lighter fluid on anti-LGBTQ hate & help fuel this kind of violence. This bar was literally scheduled to host a drag brunch this morning — the exact people you regularly demonize as harming children. You’re complicit. https://t.co/rpIHEqRMX7 pic.twitter.com/mzV1VePOIV— Senator Scott Wiener (@Scott_Wiener) November 20, 2022
President Joe Biden issued a statement on the Colorado Springs shooting. He drew parallels to the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, remembered as the “deadliest attack” on the LGBTQ+ community in American history.
“While no motive in this attack is yet clear, we know that the LGBTQI+ community has been subjected to horrific hate violence in recent years,” said Biden.
“We saw it six years ago in Orlando, when our nation suffered the deadliest attack affecting the LGBTQI+ community in American history. We continue to see it in the epidemic of violence and murder against transgender women – especially transgender women of color. And tragically, we saw it last night in this devastating attack by a gunman wielding a long rifle at an LGBTQI+ nightclub in Colorado Springs.
“Places that are supposed to be safe spaces of acceptance and celebration should never be turned into places of terror and violence. Yet it happens far too often.
“Today, Jill and I are praying for the families of the five people killed in Colorado Springs last night, and for those injured in this senseless attack.”
Biden added that America must “enact an assault weapons ban” to curb deadly shootings in the country.
A suspect in the attack has been reportedly named as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, who was subdued by two patrons of the club during the shooting, and is being treated for injuries at a nearby medical facility.
