Forever in Our Thoughts
Sometimes, it feels as if the world is falling apart because of all the hate that people have inside them. How can atrocities take place on this earth? We clearly need more love, because too many tragedies are occurring, some that are preventable to some extent.
Is mental health problems the sole explanation for all of these shootings in the US, or is gun policies in part responsible for these blood baths? It is a mix of a bit of everything. One thing that is sure is that prayers don’t help one bit. Actions are the only solution that should be on the table for a better world. Fury has taken over sadness for the families of the victims.
Anti-LGBT rhetoric by some republican politicians also adds fuel to the fire by making it okay to look down on minorities, especially transgender men and women. This is the case with multiple “Don’t Say Gay” bills being proposed in red states.
And when it is time for them to take part of the blame, they put all the blame on mental health issues. Anti-LGBT hate is real and it must be addressed with more seriousness.
As you have probably seen on the news, someone showed up at an LGBT club in Colorado Springs a few moments before midnight on November 19 before opening fire and killing 5 people who were enjoying themselves- a nice group of people that were taking advantage of what that specific weekend had to offer. It was also an important celebration for that club, Club Q, and the whole community, as it was Transgender Awareness Week when the real life nightmare happened.
Friends and family members were dancing carefree, fellow members of the LGBT community, not knowing what was yet to come. This tragedy, once more, shows us how fragile life is, and how we must take advantage of every moment we have since it might all be gone in an instant. It reminds us that life makes no sense every now and again. Some people end up being at the wrong place at the wrong time. They were enjoying themselves at a place that is usually a safe place- a home for lots- where everyone can be themselves.
The shooting at Club Q is heartbreaking. It will forever sadden me to my core. I’m sick to my stomach just to think about it. It happened in a conservative city, yes, but in a state that is more and more progressive. Colorado even elected in 2018 the first openly LGBT governor in US history, Jared Polis. One year before same-sex marriage was legalized country-wide by the Supreme Court, the state, through a referendum, voted in favour of same-sex marriage. The state also passed a law banning conversion therapy in 2018, an inhumane practice that should’ve never existed.
The Colorado tragedy shares similarities with what happened in 2016 at the Pulse nightclub, Orlando, where 49 souls lost their lives to another evil act. Unlike other pieces who talked about the killer, I’m not going to share one bit of who he is. He doesn’t deserve the attention. That’s something that the media must take into account- to stop elevating murderers to a level where everyone wants to know stuff about them. He is a loser who deserves to remain in prison for the rest of his life, with no chance of parole.
The people we should talk more about are the heroes who prevented more people to die that night. Two customers did help stop the shooting, attacking and neutralizing the gunman. One of them is a 15-year US Army veteran, Richard Fierro, who was at the club the night of the sad events to celebrate his daughter’s birthday. Talking to journalists after the massacre, M. Fierro wanted to say that he didn’t act heroically, but that he “simply wanted to save the family that he found”. Amid the tragedy, he still saved some lives on that night.
Now, what else can be done to strengthen the gun laws and make it harder for Americans to procure themselves firearms?
The House of Representatives is now controlled by republicans after the midterms, and the democrats regained control of the Senate.
Another shooting in the US, and nothing seems to be changing, even after horrible events like the Uvalde school shooting earlier this year where 21 people- 19 kids and 2 adults- lost their lives. In this case, the police forces were criticized for not acting fast enough, having taken more than an hour to confront and kill the lone shooter. A few days before, in Buffalo, another mass shooting occurred at a supermarket, leaving 10 black people dead.
Some policies have come forward since the beginning of the pandemic. This year, President Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the most important federal legislation to address gun violence to this day. The $750M act is allowing courts to temporarily seize firearms when needed from people who are deemed to be a danger to themselves or others, as well as tougher background checks for young adults who want to get a gun. People who have been convicted of domestic crime can’t buy weapons. This federal legislation sure helps to make the communities around the country safer. It unfortunately isn’t enough. Without any surprises, red states aren’t too keen to change the reality as they don’t want to lose votes.
The attachment to the second amendment, on the other hand, isn’t helping the cause. Changes that are needed will be long coming based on the fact the American society is too attached to its weapons, at least at the moment. According to a Pew Research Center survey done in 2021, around 4 out of ten Americans in the country say they live in a house where there is at least one weapon. You wouldn’t see a worrisome statistic like this one in other country. On this issue, stronger leadership is needed and fast.
The problem is that urges for more gun restriction policies are requested right after horrible tragedies and then evaporate once everything returns to normal temporarily. There isn’t a huge desire for change, which explains why we keep on seeing mass shootings.
In honour of the victims of the Club Q shooting, and to prevent from other horrible acts of violence to happen non-stop, let’s have more gun control laws. Let’s protect future generations and stop this epidemic once for all.
And for us gay folks… Let’s remain proud of who we are. This is why the co-owner of Club Q, Nic Grzecka, is planning on reopening the venue in due course. Healing is a process that takes time, but we must never hide.
Members of the LGBT community must stand together, and keep going. We shouldn’t care if we stand out in a room, if some say that we show our colours too much. We simply cannot let hate win. By being ourselves, we are able to fight it, because we can’t let monsters dictate the end results. Some chapters have yet to be written.
Creating a better world is still attainable. Never lose hope during these troubling times…
