CAPE CORAL, Fla. — On Monday, after a mass shooting in Colorado springs at Club Q, an LGBTQ+ club, killed several people and injured many others, the fear that comes with that, according to Greg Monk is unmistakable.
“ Do I post, I just got married, do I post that information..ya know... will I get messages of congratulations or bomb threats?" said Monk.
Monk is a member of the All Faiths Unitarian
Congregation, a church in Fort Myers that prides itself on acceptance
Monk said that fear is sometimes talked about in church, but is a feeling he carries with him, constantly.
“ We in the LGBTQ community are constantly unpacking things out of our little backpack that we carry around that people who don't fall under that rainbow may never consider,” said Monk.
Other organizations like Naples Pride called the shooting on their social media a "'horrific tragedy."
Naples Pride members like Nicki Brock said the shooting promotes fear within the LGBTQ+ community.
"I definitely think it promotes fear and I think about all of our youth and these kids who are grappling with oh I think I'm a member of the LGBTQ community and I want to come out, but then they hear something like this," said Brock.
On Monday, other organizations like GLSEN Collier County also provided Fox 4 with a statement about the Colorado Springs shooting.
Once again, LGBTQ people are dead and injured because of someone's hate for that community. The lies and ignorance being spread by hate groups target queer and trans people, ignoring their right to exist and just be themselves. The continual harping on LGBTQ people and refusal to see queer and trans people as people is careless and criminal and leads to individuals hurting them without a care to the consequences. GLSEN Collier County stands with the LGBTQ+ community in sorry at the injuries and the loss of those lives.
Brock said it's important for events like Naples Pride to not only continue, but come out with strong messages.
Brock said that help's the LGBTQ+ community not only spread messages of love and acceptance but calls out problems with the system.
A message shared by Greg Monk.
“You hear expressions of condolences and condemnation of violence from politicians and church leaders but we also know that these are the very same people who have created the environment in which these acts are possible,” said Monk.
Naples Pride is holding a vigil for the Colorado Springs victims on Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 7 PM at Cambier Park in downtown Naples.
