DENVER — People gathered at the state Capitol in Denver Wednesday. It was another opportunity to grieve together and show support for the LGBTQ+ community after five people were killed at Club Q in Colorado Springs.
People lit candles next to five poster boards with the names and faces of the victims. Several speakers shared stories, poems or prayers. One speaker said they worked with two of the victims at Club Q. Others were strangers but described their loss and grief as losing a family member.
“This shouldn’t be happening. This shouldn’t be happening. None of these people deserve this, not at all,” said one speaker, who told the crowd they worked with two of the victims at Club Q.
Josh Miller shared a poem, written in honor of the victims.
“You are just gone. Our community grieves,” Miller said. “I count the day we lost you as one of the worst of my life. I feel lost – questioning where I belong and how I can make a difference now.”
Miller, who identifies as non-binary, said they were alumni of Inside Out Youth Services in Colorado Springs, and said two of the shooting victims also had connections to the organization.
“I lost two people I consider to be family,” Miller said. “This is an event that will always haunt me. The darkness may never lift, I know it will change, but, it’s a very personal loss.”
“I don’t know how many more promising people we can lose in this country to gun violence before we do something, something to change the course we're on.”
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