GLAAD CEO on nightclub shooting: ‘We’re under attack and the rhetoric is driving it’

Sarah Kate Ellis, the president of the civil rights organization GLAAD, on Monday said the LGBTQ community across the country is “under attack” and the violence is being spearheaded by anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and action.

The LGBTQ community is reeling after a gunman opened fire at Club Q, a nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., over the weekend and killed five people, injuring at least 25 others.

“We have been screaming from the tops of mountains of LGBTQ leadership that an environment like this is being created [to foster] violence against our community,” Ellis said in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

Police are still investigating Saturday night’s attack and have yet to identify a motive. The suspect in the shooting, who was subdued by two nightclub patrons, is being treated for his injuries.

The violence came on the eve of Transgender Day of Remembrance, which was honored on Sunday to remember transgender people who have been killed because of transphobia.

The Colorado Springs shooting was also a painful reminder of the 2016 shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., which left 49 people dead.

Ellis tweeted on Sunday that anti-LGBTQ legislation and hate speech against the community has fueled violence, joining other activists in calling for an end to the rhetoric.

The GLAAD leader told MSNBC that she was “not surprised” by the shooting, calling attention to the roughly 300 anti-LGBTQ bills that were introduced across the country this year.

“We’re living in an environment that’s driven by two things: politicians who are using us to bolster their [platform] by creating division and hate,” Ellis said. “And number two is, social media platforms that are monetizing hate, especially against marginalized communities.”

“We’re under attack, and the rhetoric is driving it,” Ellis added.