Written By: Mansi Desai
Edited By: Marvin Kimwon
On November 19, 2022, 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich unleashed multiple rounds of ammunition in Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub located in Colorado Springs, using his legally purchased assault-style rifle. Aldrich is set to be charged with hate crimes, in the state of Colorado, for allegedly killing five people and injuring at least seventeen others who suffered from gunshot wounds. According to Nic Grzecka, owner of Club Q, the suspect had never shown up before inside their business, so they did not recognize him. It was later revealed that the aftermath of this shooting could’ve been much worse. If it wasn’t for Thomas James and Richard Fierro, two customers within the club, many more lives would have been lost that night. James and Fierro courageously confronted Aldrich and fought him, which authorities believe is the reason more lives were not lost that night. According to ABC News, further investigation of the crime scene also revealed that a second gun was found at the scene, meaning Aldrich was “extremely well armed” and “had considerable ammo.” Despite this tragic event, the response time of the Colorado Springs Police Department was rather impressive. As the first call came in at 11:56pm Saturday night, the first officer was on the scene by midnight and the suspect was detained by 12:02am. For many members of the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado and across the country, this was a frightening moment and an experience that will haunt them for the rest of their lives.
According to Gun Violence Archive, this was the 28th mass shooting incident in the United States in November alone. By November 30, 2022, there were 43 total mass shooting incidents in the United States in November alone. The gun violence epidemic has been destroying the United States and the problem is only getting worse. In this very incident, the gunman was able to legally purchase an assault-style rifle despite being arrested for a bomb threat incident two years before. In June 2021, Aldrich was arrested after the El Paso County Sheriff’s Officer found out that he was in possession of a homemade bomb. While they did not ever find the explosive in his home, he was initially charged with two counts of felony menacing and three counts of first-degree kidnapping. The arrest may have never shown up in his background checks because the case had not been adjudicated.
It is absolutely mind blowing to me that after all the gun violence incidents our country has endured, we are still not cracking down on background checks. Politicians and government officials across the country have made many promises to employ tangible solutions to address the astoundingly high rates of gun violence in our country. However, the simplest solution, stricter background checks, is yet to be employed. How can legislators, politicians, and government officials standby and watch countless Americans lose their lives every day to careless acts of gun violence? This past summer, we watched as the House passed the Protecting Our Kids Act which would “ensure that individuals under 21 years of age cannot purchase weapons of war” (H.R. 7910- Protecting Our Kids Act). After the innumerable mass shooting cases, you would think passing this bill would be a no brainer but unfortunately, it is not. As months have passed, we still wait on the Senate to make a vote that would allow this bill to hopefully become a law. It is extremely disheartening that a bill designed to protect U.S. children is so difficult to decide on. It serves as a shameful reflection of what our country truly cares about – money from the NRA over the lives of innocent children. After all, the NRA does generate roughly 400 million dollars in revenue every year (Wayne LaPierre Net Worth). As a country, we need to do better! As a nation that is highly developed, we need to take advantage of the resources we have and use them effectively. We need to reduce access to such high-grade military weapons and make it harder for youth to access firearms. We need to establish a culture of gun safety and hold the gun industry accountable for the way they market and sell firearms. We need to hold people accountable for irresponsible firearm usage while intensifying background checks and formal training for gun owners. We need to acknowledge gun violence as a public health problem and combat it using education, research, and tangible solutions. We need to bring an end to gun violence!
Comments