Nic Grzecka, co-owner of the Colorado Springs gay night
club where a mass shooting took place killing five people and injuring 17
others, said the shooting is a reflection of anti-LGBTQ sentiment that has
evolved from prejudice to incitement.

Grzecka says that the targeting of a drag queen event is linked
to the art form being cast in a false light in recent months by right-wing
activists and politicians who complain about the “sexualization” or “grooming”
of children, he told The Associated Press.

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Who is Nic Grzecka?

Nic Grzecka started mopping floors and bartending at Club Q
in 2003 a year after it opened. He hopes to channel his grief and anger into
rebuilding the support system for Colorado Springs’ LGBTQ community.

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“It’s different to walk down the street holding my
boyfriend’s hand and getting spit at (as opposed to) a politician relating a
drag queen to a groomer of their children. I would rather be spit on in the
street than have the hate get as bad as where we are today. Lying about our
community, and making them into something they are not, creates a different
type of hate,” Grzecka said.

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Grzecka became co-owner of Club Q in 2014 and helped mold
it into not merely a nightlife venue but a community center, a platform to
create a “chosen family” for the LGBTQ community. He built Club Q into an
enclave that sustained the LGBTQ community in the conservative-leaning Colorado
Springs. Drag queen bingo nights, friends giving and Christmas dinner, and
birthday celebrations became staples of Club Q which remains open 365 days a year.

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On Thursday, November 24, President Joe Biden and First
Lady Jill Biden reached out to Grzecka and co-owner Matthew Haynes to offer
condolences and reiterate their support for the community as well as their
commitment to fighting back against hate and gun violence.