APA supports LGBTQ community in wake of nightclub shooting

The American Psychiatric Association said it “stands in solidarity” with the LGBTQ community in the aftermath of the shooting at Club Q Nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and amidst ongoing discrimination.

“Bias toward LGBTQI people, whatever form it takes, hurts mental health,” the association said in a press release.

The suspect, identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle the night of Nov. 19 at Club Q, killing five people and injuring 25, as reported by AP News. Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers told the Associated Press that a club patron grabbed a handgun the suspect was also carrying and hit Aldrich with it, putting an end to the shooting. Aldrich was taken into custody.

AP News stated that authorities said Aldrich was also arrested in 2021 after threatening his mother with a homemade bomb.

“We stand opposed to laws and rhetoric that discriminate against [the LGBTQ] community, whether it is promoting dangerous conversion therapy or restricting provision of health care services to trans or gender-diverse individuals,” the APA said in its press release.

The association said it has worked over the years to call attention to gun violence as a public health crisis and promote legislation supporting background checks and research and controlling access to firearms.

“At the same time, APA strongly opposes rhetoric that would link violent acts of hate and mass shootings to mental illness,” the APA said. “Mental illness is prevalent across the globe, but this level of firearm violence is unique to the United States.”