Colorado Springs struggles with its past after Club Q shooting
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Mourners outside Colorado Springs City Hall, where a rainbow flag was draped Nov. 23 to honor of the victims of the shooting at Club Q on Nov. 19. Photo: Chet Strange/Getty Images
Just as Colorado Springs looks to the future, it's struggling to reckon with its past.
Driving the news: The Club Q shooting Nov. 19 that left five dead and at least 17 injured put a spotlight on the city's conservative and evangelical reputation and its history of battling against LGBTQ rights.
- The alleged shooter's motive remains uncertain, but the targeting of a gay nightclub known throughout the region is causing residents to re-examine the Spring' politics and culture.
What they're saying: Members of the LGBTQ community are wondering whether Colorado Springs is safe for them.
- "I've never felt, in any city, more nervous to just be who I am," Michaela Stalnaker told the Colorado Springs Indy, an alt-weekly publication.
- "It was definitely a wake up call," Brandon Flanery told the New York Times after the Club Q attack. "It's still not safe."
Why it matters: The city's image and openness to all people and cultures are crucial factors that companies and workers use in deciding where to locate. A tarnished reputation, real or perceived, could hurt economic development.
The backstory: The Christian evangelical movement and religious right, epitomized by influential Springs-based Focus on the Family, firmly rooted itself decades ago in what was known as "Jesus Springs."
- And the city led the effort in the early 1990s to make Colorado the only state in the nation to pass a voter-approved constitutional amendment legalizing discrimination against people based on sexual orientation.
- The U.S. Supreme Court later struck down the language, but the Springs' retained its reputation as "the hate city" for its role in pushing the measure to victory.
The animosity ran deep at the time as residents tried to ban Halloween celebrations in schools and called in death threats to radio stations advertising Pride parades.
- The billionaire owner of the local newspaper, Phil Anschutz, also contributed to anti-LGBTQ causes as recently as 2020.
What's new: Some attitudes have changed. Colorado Springs' Republican mayor now sanctions the Pride parade, the police department took care to refer to Club Q victims by their self-identified pronouns, and a massive rainbow flag hung from city hall at a recent vigil.
Yes, but: Hate speech remains visible from leaders and residents, part of rhetoric that experts say leads to violence.
- Recently, conservative school board members and parents say an inclusive curriculum is indoctrinating children and one elected official posted a transphobic meme to Facebook.
Of note: Focus on the Family's president Jim Daly said he mourned those killed in the shooting last month.
He told the Associated Press that his organization has shifted its message to emphasize tolerance, but added that it also should apply to those who oppose same-sex marriage.