'Hate starts with speech': Club Q survivors, LGBTQ leaders testify on anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, violence

Survivors of anti-LGBTQ violence and LGBTQ organizational leaders called for legislative action and highlighted the violent dangers of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric at a House hearing Wednesday.

The hearing: Survivors of the Nov. 19 shooting at Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub Club Q, leaders of national LGBTQ organizations and experts in anti-LGBTQ violence testified about the harmful impacts of the recent rise in anti-LGBTQ extremism at a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing Wednesday.

What they said: Some witnesses called for further legislative action on gun control, while many identified the harmful role lawmakers on the local and national level have played in amplifying anti-LGBTQ attitudes through legislation and rhetoric.

The background: The hearing came as anti-LGBTQ demonstrations, political violence and propaganda in the U.S. have risen to their highest levels since 2020, with nearly 200 anti-LGBT+ incidents reported in 2022 so far, according to November data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. That number is three times more than those reported in 2021 and 12 times more than in 2020, according to ACLED.

Here are highlights from today's hearing:

LGBTQ violence: Colorado Springs shooting joins growing list of LGBTQ hate crimes in America

Club Q survivors call for action from Congress on gun control, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric

Following the mass shooting at Club Q that left five people dead and 19 others injured in November, James Slaugh, a patron of Club Q who was shot in the arm during the gunfire, testified to the connection between anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and hate crimes.

"Hate starts with speech," Slaugh said. "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."

This year has seen a spike in online harassment and extremism, especially surrounding anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

One in three LGBTQ+ respondents to a July 2022 survey conducted by YouGov reported encountering harassment in online spaces either very frequently or frequently, compared to one in five Americans overall. A recent HRC report also unearthed coordinated hate campaigns against hospitals and medical providers who offer gender-affirming care.

At the hearing, Club Q founding owner Matthew Haynes asked members of Congress to protect LGBTQ rights through legislation and vocal support of the community.

"We need safe spaces like Club Q more than ever, and we need you, our leaders, to support and protect us," Haynes said. "We are being slaughtered and dehumanized across this country and in communities that you took an oath to protect."

'There's blood on your hands': Anti-LGBTQ rhetoric surged ahead of Club Q shooting

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LGBTQ group leaders testify on pressing need for solutions

Kelley Robinson, newly-elected President of the Human Rights Campaign, testified at the hearing about the impact of the rise of anti-LGBTQ legislation at a local level.

"These unrelenting efforts by extremist lawmakers help reinforce inflammatory narratives about our community, regardless of whether or not the underlying bills are enacted," she said. "These narratives have been weaponized many times in the past against our community to enact discriminatory laws to encourage extremist rhetoric and to enable violence."

At least 200 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures in 2022, according to data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union, and a June GLAAD study found 70% of LGBTQ Americans said discrimination toward the community has increased within the last two years.

Olivia Hunt, Policy Director at the National Center for Transgender Equality, said politicians should recognize the weight of their words in speaking about the LGBTQ community, and how rhetoric can reinforce or dismantle prejudices.

"There's a straight line that can be drawn from the legislation trying to strip trans people of our human rights to the increasingly hostile and inflammatory rhetoric portraying us as a threat to society, to the acts of violence," Hunt said.

Jessie Pocock, CEO and Executive Director of Inside Out Youth Services — the only LGBTQ specific center in Colorado Springs — encouraged legislators to protect LGBTQ youth in particular, who are at higher risk for negative mental health outcomes, as the Trevor Project reported.

"Words can harm, but words can spread compassion. Words can condemn those who speak and act out of hate," Pocock said. "These young people deserve the very best of us. Stand for them even when you don't understand."

The hearing came on the 10-year anniversary of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, when a gunman open fire into school classrooms, fatally shooting 20 young children and six staff members.

Cady Stanton is a breaking news reporter covering the LGBTQ community. Follow her on Twitter: @cady_stanton. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Club Q shooting survivors testify to House on anti-LGBTQ violence