A mass shooting at a popular gay club in Colorado Springs has resurfaced questions about the city's past and future among its residents
couldn't help but reflect on how such a display of support would have been unthinkable just days earlier.
“It feels like the city is kind of at this tipping point,” said Candace Woods, a queer minister and chaplain who has called Colorado Springs home for 18 years. “It feels interesting and strange, like there's this tension: How are we going to decide how we want to move forward as a community?” The idea of latching onto a city with a bright future is part of what drew Michael Anderson, a bartender at Club Q who survived last weekend’s shooting, to move here., helped him land the job at Club Q and find his"queer family" in his new hometown. It was more welcoming than the rural part of Florida where he grew up.
Colorado Springs voted 3 to 1 in favor of Amendment 2, helping make its narrow statewide victory possible. Though it was later ruled unconstitutional, the campaign cemented the city's reputation, drawing more like-minded groups and galvanizing progressive activists in response. Much like in the 1990s, Focus on the Family and New Life Church remain prominent in town. After the shooting, Focus on the Family's president, Jim Daly, said that like the rest of the community he was mourning the tragedy. With the city under the national spotlight, he said the organization wanted to make it clear it stands against hate.
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