GLAAD RESPONDS TO TRAGIC MASS SHOOTING AT COLORADO SPRINGS LGBTQ NIGHTCLUB

(New York, NY – November 20, 2022) – GLAAD, the world’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is responding to the mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs that killed at least five people and injured nearly twenty others. 

GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis responded on Twitter, Instagram and here:
“Our hearts are broken for the victims of the horrific tragedy in Colorado Springs, and their loved ones. This unspeakable attack has robbed countless people of their friends and family and an entire community’s sense of safety. You can draw a straight line from the false and vile rhetoric about LGBTQ people spread by extremists and amplified across social media, to the nearly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills introduced this year, to the dozens of attacks on our community like this one. That this mass shooting took place on the eve of on Transgender Day of Remembrance, when we honor the memory of the trans people killed the prior year, deepens the trauma and tragedy for all in the LGBTQ community. The media must stop spreading misinformation and elevate the truth that LGBTQ people exist, belong and want to live in peace and safety. Elected officials and corporate leaders must act immediately to prioritize this truth, and protect everyone’s safety.”

GLAAD stands in solidarity with Colorado’s LGBTQ community and is working to support the efforts of One Colorado. 

Today, November 20th, is Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day created to mourn and reflect on the transgender people killed by violence over the past year. At least 32 trans people were killed over the last year, most of whom were transgender women of color. Transgender Awareness Week is marked in the days before Transgender Day of Remembrance to elevate transgender people and their stories.

More than 300 bills were proposed this year in state legislatures across the country, and more bills are being introduced to baselessly target drag performance, an art form that has existed for centuries and appreciated by mainstream audiences. The GLAAD Media Reference Guide has additional information to report on drag art and drag performers, here.

GLAAD Coverage Guidelines:

• Avoid reenactments of the violence. These are unnecessary and can re-traumatize those impacted.
• Ask people how they would like to be identified, including names, pronouns, sexual orientation and gender identity, and use them in your reporting. Avoid erasing the sexual orientation and/or gender identities of the people taken, the survivors, and the friends and families of the Club Q community. 
• Avoid erasing the nationalities, immigrant histories, and the specificity of the communities impacted.
• Avoid speculating about the shooter’s motive, background, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity.

Additional best practices developed by Equality Florida for the #HonorThemWithAction campaign:

• Use the word “taken” or “killed,” not “lost” when referencing the the victims.
• Do not name the shooter as suggested by No Notoriety. Focus on the victims, their friends, families, and community members. 

The GLAAD Media Reference Guide includes for up-to-date terms and definitions when talking about peoples’ sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression.