Far right personalities justify Club Q shooting, demand 'armed response' to 'grooming'

 Editor's note - I've always believed that knowledge is power, no matter how distasteful it is. That's why I am posting this.

One would think that after the recent shooting at Club Q, certain personalities would engage in some sincere introspection about the many ways they have smeared LGBTQ people with false claims that we are "grooming," "sexualizing," and "mutilating" kids.

Think again. 

Apparently to these folks, sincere introspection is for losers and doubling down on the lies you tell is the way to go. 

Kurt Schlitcher is a writer at the conservative site Townhall (whose political editor is an openly gay conservative by the name of Guy Benson).  Schlitcher has over 454,000 Twitter followers:

Tim Pool is a podcaster with 1.4 million Twitter followers and 1.3 million Youtube subscribers. 

 Pool is referring to an all ages drag show which would have taken place the next day. Calling it a 'grooming' event is a straight-up lie.  Pool is yet another conservative who has weaponized the word "grooming" in order to stigmatize LGBTQ people and minimize our culture into one solely about sexual intercourse. It's an updated version of the Anita Bryant claim from the 70s that "gays have to recruit kids to replenish their ranks."

Steve Crowder is an Apple podcaster with over 1.9 million Twitter followers and 5.88 million Youtube subscribers.

You can probably tell by looking at Crowder that in spite of his talk about being "armed," if someone handed him a gun, he'd "make lemonade and fudge" in his pants.

Let's be clear about a few things:

Drag shows are not inherently sexual. 

Many drag shows are rather tame.

Children are not being sexually groomed by drag queens or Drag Queen Story Hour events. 

Healthcare for trans kids is not mutilation.  

And most importantly:

People aren't reacting violently because these things are happening. They are reacting violently because they are being led to believe these things are happening by Pool, Schlitcher and Crowder.  And I genuinely don't think that Pool, Schlitcher and Crowder actually believe what they are spewing. 

This is what the LGBTQ community - particularly the transgender community - have been trying to tell the so-called mainstream all along. We aren't dealing with people who have simple difference of opinion or a "sincerely held religious beliefs."  We're dealing with posers, clout chasers, and people who simply don't give a damn about who gets hurt by their lies. Just as long as they get what they want. 

Five people are dead and 25 others are wounded. And while the shooter's motives is not yet known, the manner in which these three bozos closed ranks, actually justifying the shooting, says a lot.

'Here are the five victims who were killed in Colorado gay nightclub shooting' & other Tue midday news briefs

Here are the five victims who were killed in Colorado gay nightclub shooting​ - So many innocent lives taken. Even only one is one too many. 

Mass shooting at Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub comes amid a right-wing media hate campaign against drag queens - Never forget the entities who contributed to this madness. 

Club Q Patrons Pistol-Whipped and Pinned Gunman in Colorado Shooting - They whipped the BRAKES off of that fool. 

The Texas Legislature Is Preparing an All-Out War on Trans People’s Existence - Even in light of what happened at Club Q, some folks are still determined to undermine trans people. 

In Latin America, mothers of LGBTQ children fight against prejudice - And our fight goes on. Everywhere.

The right-wing media's hate campaign against the LGBTQ community has deadly consequences

From Media Matters:

At least five people are dead and 25 are injured after a shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Club Q had planned to host an “all ages drag brunch” on the morning after the shooting to celebrate Transgender Day of Remembrance, an annual day of mourning for trans people whose lives were lost to violence.⁠ ⁠ Right-wing media have focused obsessively on drag shows in recent months, falsely portraying them as a threat not just to children, but to civilization as a whole.⁠

 Club Q has asked that people interested in donating to victims and the local community do so through a contribution to the Colorado Healing Fund, available at this link.

'GOP responses to Club Q shooting aren't making things better' & other Mon midday news briefs

Anti-LGBTQ sentiment in Colorado Springs had some in the community anticipating tragedy - Yep. Not surprised.

 Some people simply don't when to shut up:

Colorado lawmaker demands Lauren Boebert 'stop' demonizing LBGTQ+ community 

'You don’t care': Twitter bulldozes Ted Cruz for defending guns while 'praying' for Club Q victims 

 In other news:

The Inspection' highlights a gay Black Marine's experience under 'don't ask, don't tell' - The story which needs to be told.

Trio of Pro-LGBTQ+ Politicians Likely to Head Democrats in House - And they got their work cut out for them.

Conservative gays exploiting Club Q shooting to blame entire LGBTQ community

Editor's note - I know some of you would ask why am I "elevating" such vermin?  I agonized about this post but I simply have to say something. Being quiet like this is like sour milk in my stomach.

What you are reading is how some right-wing gay folks are exploiting the Club Q shooting in order to denigrate the entire community.

Let's first talk about their gaslighting game. It's comprised of pointing fingers at people in our community, blaming them for bigoted rhetoric and hateful actions aimed at us:

"If only those gay people acted normal, heterosexuals would accept us instead of trying to harm us."

"Those transgender people are attaching themselves the gay community and are dragging the rest of us down."

Folks, I was a believer of that junk a long time ago. That is until I got older and wiser. I came to the realization that no matter what you do to please bigots and homophobes, they won't ever accept you.  They scapegoat LGBTQ people because of their own ignorance and hate. Not because of anything we do or say. 

All of that should go without saying, but here is a sad truth about this particular situation. These two tweets don't come from a place of basic ignorance and ill information. They come from a place of cynical manipulation in which people are capitalizing on the Club Q tragedy to gain attention and money for their brand.

"Gays Against Groomers" is a group capitalizing on the lie that LGBTQ people are "grooming" or "sexualizing" children. And being a group supposedly comprised of LGBTQ people themselves, it leverages credibility in far-right circles, while also asking for "donations" and spewing all sorts of lies, such as comparing gender affirming healthcare to Nazi experiments.

And the young man sending out the other tweet, David Leatherwood, is supposedly a "board member" of 'Gays Against Groomers' and a members other far-right LGBTQ groups (OutSpoken USA) whose sole aim is bending over backwards to either pretend that right-wing bigotry against the LGBTQ community doesn't exist or blaming LGBTQ people themselves for the bigotry.

The irony is that Leatherwood also claims to be a member of Turning Point USA, a group infamous for  embracing all sorts of bigotry from racism to homophobia.  

Earlier this year, according to Media Matters:

The host of Turning Point USA’s daily show Frontlines, Drew Hernandez, has spent the first half of June targeting the LGBTQ community and Pride Month, referring to it as “groomer month” and calling LGBTQ people “mentally ill.” Publishing videos to TPUSA’s half a million-plus YouTube subscribers, Hernandez has called for parents who bring their children to Pride events to be arrested.

In addition, the founder and executive director of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk has attacked the LGBTQ community with hysteria-driven claims including:

Gays want to corrupt children,

Trans people are to blame for inflation,

and the "trans movement" is trying to turn people into machines.

People like Leatherwood and Gays Against Groomers attempt to portray themselves as "normal" LGBTQ people outraged by the supposed excesses of the LGBTQ left-wing. But by the company they keep and the levels they stoop, it's apparent that their idea of 'normalcy" is stomping on other LGBTQ people for the almighty dollar and a little bit of clout.

And unfortunately, there are others out there with same goals in mind.

Did the smearing of LGBTQ people as 'groomers' lead to the Club Q shooting?

 

    While the motive for the recent shooting at Club Q is not known, Colorado Times Recorder writer Heidi Beedle posted a Twitter roll of articles showing how the demonization of LGBTQ people as "child groomers" could have easily played a role in getting us to this point of tragedy.

We had an AWFUL day today.

 I won't go into details because I think you already know about the shooting at the gay bar Club Q in Colorado which left 5 people dead and 25 injured. Some fool came in shooting and caused havoc before he was brought down by patrons who risked their lives to end his madness

And while the motive behind this creature's shooting spree isn't officially known, it doesn't take a palm reader to know that all of the sh!t we've had to deal with from Matt Walsh, Libs of Tik Tok, Christopher Rufo most likely got us to this point.

All of the lies, all demonizing and smearing us as child molesters who are trying to mutilate children seems to have done its work. From idiots screeching about 'grooming' at school board meetings, from wannabe influencers posting taken out of context footage of kids and drag queens, to fools lying about healthcare for trans kids and issuing bomb threats to children's hospitals, to idiotic Proud Boys screaming threats at our events, it all comes down to the same thing.

As the days go by, we will no doubt talk about this even more. But here is a portion I hope you don't forget. It wasn't all about national faces and voices like Walsh or Libs of Tik Tok. There were more involved.

Heidi Beedle, a writer at the Colorado Times Recorder took it upon herself to create a Twitter thread of articles, when put together, could have predicted the shooting which went on at Club Q. It's scary when you take into account the motivations and actions of those whose deliberate smears of LGBTQ people possibly led to this.

Salam, here is your unroll: https://t.co/ghr3QBZJ0E See you soon. 🤖

— Thread Reader App (@threadreaderapp) November 20, 2022

GOP, conservatives, and religious right make halfhearted attack against Respect for Marriage Act with comically sad predictions

Conservative Republicans and the religious right are claiming that the Respect for Marriage Act will cause Christians to be persecuted in America. However, they have a bad track record when it comes to predicting how pro-LGBTQ legislation will harm Christians, such as when they falsely claimed that hate crimes legislation would cause pastors to get arrested in pulpits for preaching against homosexuality. Hate crimes legislation was passed and that claim didn't come true.

Wednesday's crucial vote of the Respect for Marriage Act has made conservatives, Republicans, and the religious right all lose their collective minds.  According to Peter Montgomery of  People for the American Way, they have been lobbing all sorts of hysterical claims about the act. But if you ask me, their hearts don't seem to be in the effort.

In spite of the historic support for the Respect for Marriage Act from the Mormon Church, Sen. Mike Lee of Utah dismissed the bill’s religious liberty provisions, telling the Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins that the legislation would lead to “the destruction of religious liberty in America.” 

 Sean Feucht, the missionary musician turned ​right-wing political activist, warned ​the church to “Prepare For Persecution!” and claimed that passage of the bill would signal “an attack on the church.”

 Liberty Counsel, a religious-right legal group that branched out into anti-vaccine conspiracy mongering during the COVID-19 ​pandemic, may take the cake ​for most desperate-to-get-clicks claim that “This Depraved Law Would Allow Pedophiles to Marry Children.” ​That claim was given a boost by the Pentecostal-oriented media outlet Charisma.

 Liberty University’s Standing for Freedom Center warned that the legislation “disrespects the religious liberties of millions of Americans who may face judicial assault if they refuse to oblige the left’s tyrannical narratives.”  The Freedom Center’s Ryan Helfenbein retweeted its claim, adding his own warning that “We are opening the door for massive religious persecution on a scale never seen before in America.” 

Concerned Women for America called it an “attack” on people “who affirm Biblical morality when it comes to marriage and sexuality.”

 Pundit Todd Starnes denounced the Republican senators who “just declared war on the church” by voting to allow the bill to move forward, and he claimed that the bill would “put a target on every Christian church in America.” 

 Under the utterly false headline, “Mitt Romney pushes Polygamy on all 50 states, ”religious-right activist and former Colorado state legislator Gordon Klingenschmitt claimed that the bill would “legalize Polygamy, child-marriage, and Gay ‘Marriage’ in all 50 states.”

It all reminds me of Donald Trump's speeches,  i.e. repetitive nonsense which is at first shocking but then gets boring after a while. Montgomery points out that the right played the same game in 2009 about hate crimes legislation:

 Consider, for example, the frenzied opposition to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which passed Congress in 2009 and was signed into law by President Barack Obama. The legislation strengthened an existing federal hate crimes law by including crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. 

 If the apocalyptic warnings from far-right religious and political leaders during debate on the bill had any grounding in truth, the years since then would have brought about the criminalization of Christianity, prisons filled with pastors who preached against homosexuality, and conservative Christians piled into boxcars and sent to concentration camps. Influential Christian nationalist “historian” and serial liar David Barton told a California church that sponsors of the hate crimes law—which explicitly targets violent crimes—wanted to make it a federal crime for preachers to read Bible verses denouncing homosexuality. Religious-right leaders and far-right members of Congress falsely claimed, without the slightest evidence, that the law would create legal protections for bestiality and pedophilia. 

 More than a decade later, of course, none of that has happened. No preachers were dragged from their pulpits. Far-right Christian leaders are still quite free to rage against legal equality for LGBTQ people, and political operatives are free to run political campaigns that smear us with dishonest propaganda. Freedom has survived, and the campaign against the federal hate crimes law has been exposed as a lie.