 Believe it or not, it's been almost a month since the shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, and the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on anti-LGBTQ plus hate, and they brought in some of the survivors of the Club Q shooting as well as the owner Matthew Haynes, and I wanted to talk about their testimonies because what they say, even knowing the story and being familiar with this, was genuinely shocking to me, and I do think that this is important. So first, let's get some context. Alex Bollinger of LGBTQ Plus Nation explains, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing Wednesday on anti-LGBTQ plus hate, a recent study showed that anti-LGBTQ plus sentiment drove an increase in far-right protests this year and a report from GLAAD found 124 incidents or threats of violence against drag events in 2022 so far. This past summer, Pride celebrations were besieged with violent attacks from the far-right as conservatives online started accusing LGBTQ plus people of grooming children another term for sexual predation. Quote, we are being slaughtered and dehumanized across this country in communities. You took oaths to protect, said Matthew Haynes, the owner of the LGBTQ plus bar, Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a shooter with the history of anti-LGBTQ plus rhetoric in November, entered the bar and killed five people and injured 18 others. Quote, LGBTQ issues are not political issues. He continued. They are not lifestyles. They are not beliefs or choices. They are basic human rights. And he is absolutely correct about that. Now, I don't think that any of you will be shocked to know that Republicans during this committee hearing did not take the anti-LGBTQ plus rhetoric seriously. In fact, they both sides did to make it seem as if hate for rhetoric on both sides is equally leading to violence. When that is obviously not only a false equivalence, but it's just stupid. I'm sorry. It's just dumb. We all seen the rise in anti-LGBTQ plus violence this year and that directly correlated with the increase in anti-LGBTQ plus propaganda that we've been hearing from Fox News, individuals like Matt Walsh, Chaya Rychik of Libs of TikTok. And so all of this hate for rhetoric, it does have violent consequences. Now, I want to get to the study that was referenced in that article. This is a study from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project or ACLED. And here's what they say about the study that they just published on December 6th. After the attack on the Capitol in January of 2021 and through the November 2022 midterm elections, far-right mobilization has only continued to evolve in the United States. Currently, far-right activity in 2022 is on track to exceed the level of activity reported in 2021, driven by a significant uptick in white nationalists, white supremacists, and anti-LGBTQ plus organizing around the country. Now, here's some key trends that they found with respect to the LGBTQ plus community. Anti-LGBTQ plus mobilization, the second most salient driver, has fueled the largest increase in far-right protest activity this year. So far in 2022, 14% of demonstrations involving far-right groups have been anti-LGBT plus up from less than 3% last year, though not limited to organized far-right actors, these groups have taken an increasingly large role in anti-LGBT plus mobilization around the country. Far-right groups have engaged in over three times more anti-LGBT plus demonstrations than they did last year, 55 events in 2022, up from 16 events in 2021, and in three times as many states, 18 in 2022, up from six in 2021, at least 150 incidents of violence targeting civilians have been reported in the United States this year, with more than 20 specifically targeting the LGBT plus community. This is up from over 100 total events last year, with at least seven targeting the LGBT plus community. So long story short, we've seen a surge in anti-LGBTQ plus violence, and they're not slowing down anytime soon. Every single LGBTQ plus inclusive event or tradition is now subject to nonstop right wing scrutiny. And even after anti-LGBTQ plus rhetoric led to a mass shooting just a month ago, well, they're still trying to encourage that again. For example, Matt Walsh responded to an account that highlighted a drag queen Christmas, which is an event that takes place every single year. It's been going on for eight years now. And this account slanderously claimed that this is a national tour meant to quote room children when that's positively false. There's no evidence for that. But Matt Walsh signal boosted this and said, you need to understand that we are dealing with pure evil. The people doing this, the people supporting it, they are all evil. They need to be crushed and defeated. Now, let me be very clear, he knows what he's doing. When you use a rhetoric like that, they need to be crushed. He knows he is tacitly calling for violence. He wants a genocide against LGBTQ plus people. And in any way, he can foster more hate and violence towards this community. That's a him is a victory. And I really want people to understand that you can't get these folks like Matt Walsh or Chair I checked to simply tone down the rhetoric if they learn that their rhetoric is leading to violence. That's the goal. They know that their rhetoric leads to violence. And that's what they want. They want queer people to die and they celebrate when queer people die. Now, the reason why I wanted to talk about these testimonies is because the owner of Club Q, Matthew Haynes, demonstrates that. So listen to the messages that he received after the mass shooting. We have received hundreds of hate comments. I cannot read the more, but I'm going to read you a few examples. I woke up to the wonderful news that five mentally unstable faggots and lesbians and 18 injured. The only thing I'm mad about is that the faggots had courage to subdue the wonderful killer. I hope more shootings happen, have a blessed day. The shooter was doing God's work, five less faggots, not enough. Those that stopped him are the devil. All gays should die. This is hate. He goes on to explain that Richard Fierro, the hero who subdued the mass shooter, also received hate because he saved lives and these folks want queer people to die. The more bloodshed, the better off they think the country is going to be. So this testimony was important because Matthew is demonstrating to the world what this is really about. It's not an oopsie daisy. Did I just accidentally incite violence against queer people? It's no, they want violence against queer people. They want queer people dead. They don't care that they're causing this. They want it to happen. Now, I want to get to the testimony from the bartender who survived. We heard from him before, but he recounts the horrific details of that night. And I think what he says is really important and powerful. I was bartending that evening when the attack began. I felt more terrified than I ever have before in my life. I ran for my life that night and hid, praying and hoping the violence would end. When I stared down the barrel of that gun, I realized I stood no chance against a weapon of that power, magazine capacity and seemingly automatic firing rate. While I prepared for my life to end in that moment, I prayed, I panicked and I prayed some more. God must have heard my prayers because two brave men stopped the shooter moments before he would have inevitably found me. I saw my friend lying on the floor, bleeding out, knowing there was little to no chance of surviving that bullet wound. I had to tell him goodbye while I continued to fear for my life, not knowing if the attack was truly over. I can still hear the rapid firing of bullets today. It's a sound I may never forget. It's a sound I hope no one here or anywhere else in this country has to hear. I mean, this is a human being who is now going to be traumatized for the rest of his life because hate. It's that simple. Now, one last testimony that I want to play for you is from another Club Q survivor. This is a patron. He was there with his partner and he was actually shot along with his boyfriend and his sister ended up dying. Listen to what he has to say because I think his message is vitally important. The events of November 19th were a nightmare come true and one of my biggest fears right before midnight on the eve of the transgender day of remembrance. My boyfriend, John Carlos, and I were about to leave Club Q when a shooter walked in. Several pops rang out and I immediately felt a searing pain in my arm. I fell over on the ground knowing I had been shot in my right arm. It wasn't working, but I was able to call 911. I saw everyone on the ground. Glass panes shattered and blood running from my arm and chest where shrapnel had come through. John Carlos was next to me, a shot in the leg, but thankfully alive. To my horror, my sister, Charlene, was bleeding out. She had been shot over five times. My heart rended as she tried to dial 911 with her good arm outstretched. I called out to her and I heard no response. I don't want to imagine what may happen had the shooter not been taken down that night. Five wonderful people were still murdered and may we never forget their names. Ashley Paw, Raymond Green-Vance, Daniel Aston, Derek Rump and Kelly Loving. We miss each of you. Club Q was a second home and safe space, not just for me, but for all of us. Outside of these spaces, we are continually being dehumanized, marginalized and targeted. The fear-based and hateful rhetoric surrounding the LGBTQ plus community, especially around trans individuals and drag performers, leads to violence. It incites violence. We shouldn't have to fear being shot when we go to our safe spaces or anywhere for that matter. Hate rhetoric from politicians, religious leaders and media outlets is at the root of the attacks, like at Club Q, and it needs to stop now. Rhetoric that makes people less than for being different. Rhetoric that threatens to silence what sports we can play, what bathrooms we can use, how we define our family and who I can marry. Every American, every American, especially those elected to positions of power, has a responsibility and a choice to use their words consciously. Hate starts with speech. The hateful rhetoric you've heard from elected leaders is the direct cause of the horrific shooting at Club Q. We need elected leaders to demonstrate language that reflects love and understanding, not hate and fear. I urge LGBTQ plus Americans and allies to join together today as one community. Hateful people want to drive us back into closets and to live our lives in fear, but we cannot be afraid. No bullets will stop us from being proud of who we are or will injure the support and love that exists in our community. He's right. He's absolutely right. I want people to stop being naive about right wingers. When the far right spotlights these drag shows and it seems like they're trying to find every single one so they can incite violence against it. They are very specifically trying to get one of their unhinged fans to do violence. It's that simple. They know what they're doing. These aren't stupid people. They know exactly what their words are going to incite. So we need to know what their intentions are because we can't respond accordingly if we don't know their true motivations. We're still going to be stuck thinking, oh, my God, we just have to inform them and educate them because if they know that these aren't grooming events, then, you know, they'll stop inciting hate. No, they know that these aren't grooming events. They know that this isn't happening. Pedophilia is not happening at these events. They have no evidence of that claim. They're specifically using this inflammatory slanderous rhetoric because they want somebody to think that to do violence against LGBTQ plus people is going to protect children, save lives. These people are monsters. They are genuinely evil and blood is on their hands. But that's not something that's going to discourage them. It's only going to further encourage them because they're getting what they want. So as a society, collectively, all have to forcefully push back against these disgusting right wing ghouls. OK, most people are smart enough to know that a drag event is not grooming. LGBTQ plus inclusive spaces that are family friendly is not sexualization. These are people who are simply in a safe space where they have community, where they're with other people who support them and aren't going to judge them. That's what this is. And right wingers are infiltrating these spaces, trying to take them away from queer people. So the way that we defeat them is if we bind together and we loudly object to what they're doing. Let me show you an example of a really good way to be there to support queer people, vets for equality, for example, they're showing up and they're exercising their Second Amendment rights and they're protecting queer people because when you see proud boys and Patriot Front show up with guns, well, to have a countering force there to also do security at the behest of queer people who are attending these events, I think that that matters. I think that things like this are really important. And I'm not somebody who likes to see armed people walking around. But unfortunately, we're at that point in this country where if you're going to have people there intimidating with guns, we need to have people there protecting with guns as well. And I don't advocate for violence. I don't support violence. But I think that people who are showing up, including anti-fascists, who are showing up armed to protect queer people and drag queens and children from these right wing fascists and terrorists. These people are absolutely doing the Lord's work. It's really important. So there's nothing left to say. We have to bind together as a country and a community and let this vocal minority know that their terrorism and harassment against queer people is not going to be tolerated.