“It’s very daunting”: Lexington LGBTQIA+ bar owners react to Colorado Springs gay bar shooting
The attack in Colorado Springs is now leading LGBTQIA+ bar owners to have conversations with their employees about what to do if a similar situation were to happen.
LEXINGTON, Ky (WTVQ)- A deadly weekend shooting at a gay club in Colorado has the LGBTQIA+ community grieving all across the country. Club Q in Colorado Springs is more than 1100 miles away from Lexington. But the effects of what took place there Saturday night are being felt in our city.
“It’s scary sometimes and concerning to think that anybody would want to do something like that. Especially at a gay bar,” says Rebecca Richter, co-owner of Crossings Lexington..
Richter and Elysse Arrington have co-owned Crossings for around five years. They say bars like Club Q, and their bar at Crossings, are meant to be a safe space for people to be themselves.
“The unfortunate case is that there’s not really a lot you can do to plan if someone decides to walk through your door with an AR-15. And that’s very daunting to try to prepare your staff and try to keep folks safe,” says Richter.
Police in Colorado say alleged shooter 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich opened fire inside the club. Right now, five people are confirmed dead and dozens of others are injured.
Patrons are being credited with stopping the shooter until police arrived. Richter says she has no doubts their patrons would do the same thing if needed.
“We have great patrons also who are almost always willing to jump in and help if there’s a situation where we might need some assistance,” says Richter.
The attack in Colorado Springs is now leading LGBTQIA+ bar owners to have conversations with their employees about what to do if a similar situation were to happen.
“We started discussing that with them this morning. And we’re working on just making sure that everybody knows that they can call the police, reach out to us, and we’re hashing together a plan of what to do if in the situation,” says Arrington.
There is a guardsman on duty at the front door every night to help protect the staff and people, and to help check ID’s.
Richter and Arrington say their hearts go out to all who were affected by the shooting and say there are resources available in Lexington for anyone in the community who might need them.
“We’re proud of our community and it’s more of a community center often. We come together to have a Thanksgiving potluck or to raise money for our community. And we’re a family. This is my family,” said Richter.
“It makes us want to be sure that we continue to be here, continue to be a safe, inclusive space, regardless of what happens because it is more important for there to be this space than to protect any one individual,” says Arrington.
