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Rub sleep from eyes, reach for phone, see the news. A familiar jolt of dread: 5 dead, 18 injured at the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, an LGBTQ nightclub. The club praises “brave” patrons who fought to subdue the gunman, later named as Anderson Lee Aldrich, who is now in custody. As ever, LGBTQ people have to defend themselves, and here two individuals have helped, through sheer bravery, to prevent an even greater loss of life.
At the time of writing, we do not know the motive of the alleged shooter. There may be a hate crime component to the investigation, prosecutors say, but whether it will ultimately stick as a charge remains to be seen and investigated.
But here again: another Sunday morning, six years after the Pulse shooting, with familiar feelings after the headlines. Heart plummets. Upset. Anger. Grief for those who you don’t know personally and also that deeper sense of knowing, because LGBTQ people know hatred, the omnipresent threat of violence—we just never know where it will flare up and affect us directly.