A few years back, Stacy Louis was working at his bar in Phoenix’s Melrose District when he heard about the shooting massacre at an Florida nightclub.

“I went to in the DJ booth, and then made a huge announcement about what had transpired. And I’m feeling the exact feeling right now.” Louis said.

What would you do if it were his bar? What if they were his employees or customers? What if it was him?

The same thoughts recurred through Louis’s mind following the incident in which an attacker fired and killed five at the LGBTQ club in Colorado shortly before midnight on Saturday.

The shooting at the Club Q also caused at least 12 injuries. The suspect shooter was identified by police to be Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22 and stated that they believe he was acting alone.

People confronted the shooter and put an end to the carnage that took place in the midst of Transgender Awareness Week. Aldrich was detained and receiving treatment for injuries. El Paso County District Attorney Michael Allen said investigators were investigating the motives of all kinds and whether the crime ought to be investigated as an act of hate.

Louis stated, “I don’t know how I would have dealt with the situation. It’s absolutely horrifying. I wish I had prevented it.”

There are people who are injured, traumatized and even dead The community leaders grieve

Clubs and bars in Phoenix that frequently are hosts of LGBTQ and drag-show events such as Stacy in Melrose as well as Boycott Bar. have resumed their services on Sunday.

Richard Stevens, who has been performing for 25 years as Barbra Seville for the past 25 years, has continued his drag show in The Hot Chick despite his discomfort.

“A majority people LGBT people -Not all of us but many LGBT persons — locate their families in these environments. They discover them, and they discover their friends, they meet those who share the same preferences,” Stevens said.

Making his show while dealing with grief was not easy. “It was a horrible experience to be open about it,” the actor said.

“It was difficult to go out in the open and realize that our role is to free people from their concerns and from their concerns,” Stevens said. “But there are those who have been injured, traumatized and even dead . . . It was extremely difficult. But we did.”

Respecting the memory: On Transgender Day of Remembrance, LGBTQ community honours at least 32 trans individuals killed in 2022.

Stevens is one of Phoenix’s most famous drag artists, garnered international attention for defending Republican Governor presidential candidate Kari Lake for her stand against drag shows.

Drag performances have become an element of the war on conservative culture, Stevens said the LGBTQ community is more prone to attacks of violence.

“We don’t know what’s happening at Colorado Springs just yet,” Stevens said. “But I was concerned about this was what it could result in and, as you know, we’re here.”

This past Sunday Sonia Flores, a spokesperson for Trans Queer Pueblo — an organization that is led by LGBTQ migrants of color, said they woke up to horrifying news that the shooter was killed. In the previous night the shooting, their community was celebrating the event as a “Trans Queen Prom” and raising funds to help with issues like offering health care to transgender persons.

“It was very difficult to wake up knowing that, while we were celebrating our achievements, our family members across the border in Colorado were killed,” Flores said.

Flores stated that politicians like Lake, who was one of those who targeted drag shows advertised as family-friendly as family friendly, have contributed to a damaging attitude towards LGBTQ people. LGBTQ community.

Jeanne Woodbury, interim executive director of Equality Arizona, an organization which assists LGBTQ Arizonans in political issues, has said that she believes the shooting could be motivated by rising anti-transgender stigma and the fearmongering created by events like drag shows.

“They often claim that they’re protesting but in reality, they’re intimidating and harassing people at libraries, community centers, and cafes because of our identity and due to the force and resilience that our communities have,” Woodbury said.

Woodbury claimed that all people, even public figures, must lower the temperature of their conversations as it could lead to actions like shootings.

“This is is a crime that was committed by a single person. However, a large number of people are accountable for the violence … The world have to step back and think about ways to be more understanding of one another and more compassionate, as well as more compassionate,” Woodbury said.

The shooting took place the night prior to Transgender Day of Remembrance

On Sunday, the LGBTQ community celebrated the Transgender Day of Remembrance in honor of transgender people and gender nonconforming persons who were killed in violence.

There were at least 32 gender nonconforming and transgender people passed away in 2022 according to a report by the Human Rights Campaign released last week. The report showed that 85percent of victims of violence fatal to them since 2013 were people who are of color.

Woodbury said that people are already mourning the loss of the members of the community who been killed by violence. He said it was a traumatizing thing that the shooting occurred just before the memorial service.

“When we spend so much of our time is spent by the fear of violence, and tragedies and then to have an increase in violence in this moment … individuals have to grapple with the implications of this,” Woodbury said.

Flores stated, “We do think that it occurred just before The Trans Day of Remembrance because of anti-LGBTQ messages and anti-LGBTQ policy. We believe that’s the reason the reason behind it.”

Flores stated that their community is a victim of violence in a variety of ways, so incidents like the shootings make them want to unite and continue organizing for LGBTQ and justice for migrants.

“At Trans Queer Pueblo, we dream of an Phoenix which is protected from discrimination by all and that’s our goal to strive to achieve. Our dream of being a transqueer Phoenix in which we aren’t just a victimized group, but are actually admired and celebrated,” Flores said.

Woodbury stated that people, including public figures, must lower the level of their public discourse and hatred, as these could result in acts like the shooting.

“This is is a crime that was committed by a single person. But many people are accountable for this … It is time that we have to look at ways to be more accepting of one another and more compassionate, as well as more empathic,” Woodbury said.

Events and vigils are dedicated to the memory of people who died

Trans Spectrum of Arizona -is a community-based organization which supports transgender non-binary, gender-inclusive and non-binary people has held a vigil on Sunday night in celebration of Transgender Day of Remembrance and those who were killed in Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs shooting.

Audrey Corley also held a protest on Sunday at her company, Boycott Bar on Seventh Avenue. The bar is often a host for LGBTQ Drag shows and events.

“We will not be afraid. We will not be silenced. We’ll be loud and that’s an act we’ll continue to do as it’s who we are.” Corley said.

In addition to the additional safety and security training to employees in the event of a shooting Louis will host an event for fundraising in the Stacy at Melrose on Jan. 14 for the people impacted through this year’s Club Q incident.

Similar to what he did following shooting at the Pulse club shooting in the nightclub, Louis will organize a livestream of the fundraiser and invite representatives from members of the LGBTQ community to address the crowd.