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Louisville LGBTQ+ community 'devastated' by Colorado Springs mass shooting

As Colorado Springs Police confirm Saturday's mass shooting is being investigated as a hate crime, Louisville LGBTQ+ leaders stress the community seek resources.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — After a mass shooting, Saturday, at a Colorado Springs nightclub, many apart of Louisville's LGBTQ+ community say they cannot find the words to explain its impact, other than "devastating."

So far, authorities are reporting at least five people were killed and 25 others injured in a shooting Saturday night at LGBTQ+ nightclub "Club Q."

Colorado Springs Police confirmed, Sunday, during a press conference that the shooting is being investigated as a hate crime. 

"I feel confident, regardless of the shooter's motives, that they were not mistaken about where they were walking into [Saturday]," Chris Hartman, executive director of the Fairness Project, said. "Club Q is a well known LGBTQ+ bar."

And, although thousands of miles away from Louisville, Hartman said the impact the mass shooting has already had in the city's LGBTQ+ community can't be underscored enough.

"One can't help but see the connections that years of compounding anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has created the environment where hate and distain against our community festers and unfortunately manifests," he said.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, "a record 26 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were enacted into law across ten states" in 2021.

In 2022, the organization reports, as of May, at least 195 anti-LGBTQ bills were pending in state legislatures. 

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