PA Reacts To Mass Shooting At LGBTQ Club: 'All Of Us Become Victims'

PENNSYLVANIA — The ripple effects of the deadly mass shooting over the weekend at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado continue to be felt across the nation and in Pennsylvania. Leaders and citizens reacted to the shooting this week, which claimed the life of five people, including a Berks County native.

The incident has shattered anew a certain sense of safety in public spaces, as have the dozens of mass shooting events across the nation the past year.

"All of us become victims as the number of safe spaces where we can gather in peace for fun and fellowship are reduced," Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission executive director Chad Dion Lassiter said in a statement. "Instead, hate and violence force us to shelter in place, isolated and alone.'

A 22-year-old opened fire Saturday night at Club Q, in Colorado Springs. Berks County native Derrick Rump, 38, bartender and supervisor at Club Q in Colorado Springs, was killed, police said. In addition to four other deaths, 19 more were injured.

Lassiter argued that society is denigrated after every incident.

"We are all losing public spaces where we can feel emotionally and physically secure – supermarkets, college campuses, synagogues, movie theaters, churches, nightclubs, and schools," he said.

Some leadership in Pennsylvania reiterated calls for stronger government intervention against gun violence. It echoes calls that officials have been putting out for years in the wake of similar incidents.

"Enough is enough," Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday. "Gun violence is poison in our community sanctuaries. We must do more to address the public health epidemic of gun violence."

"Too many families are going to spend this Thanksgiving without a loved one," governor-elect Josh Shapiro said, adding "May their memories stay with us as we continue to fight for real safety in our communities."

Others noted the attack was unique because of the nature of Club Q, a haven for the LGBTQ in a famously conservative city.

"Across the country, this sense of community and support for transgender people is in peril," ACLU of Pennsylvania said. "Even when not taking the form of violence or the threat of it, politicians are working overtime to further isolate and alienate transgender people from their communities and their families."