LBGTQ bar shooting.

If I was this dude's defense attorney, I would say, "pretend that you Identify as one of them so I don't have to do a hate crime trial."

originally posted by: LordAhriman
If I was this dude's defense attorney, I would say, "pretend that you Identify as one of them so I don't have to do a hate crime trial."

I think the sentiment is right but I'm doubting this will go to trial.

a reply to: LordAhriman

That may be, but the shooter's lawyer is going to get paid for their work regardless of what they do. The city will want to make an example of the accused, so they'll tack on whatever charges they can get to stick. Whoever their defense attorney is knows this is a guilty verdict from the start; the only question is how much prison time will be tacked on in addition to a life sentence.

Perhaps the attorney wants to avoid the headache of a hate crime trial, but I doubt that somewhat, because whether or not the accused is charged with a hate crime won't really change much. It's more likely the accused either decided to claim they are non-binary without any true belief to that effect, or they actually are non-binary and they had a separate motive for the shooting.

Based on the evidence presented so far from the accused's bomb threat incident previously, they are not a mentally stable individual, so their decisions and claims aren't certain to make rational sense.

It was straight on the news in the UK. Shooting up people is always bad, but killing people from the LGBTQxyz community is an auto-response for right-wing nutter, with God problems. Almost certainly white and good story.

Then, when it was discovered he was a non-binary, the story was quietly dropped. Presumably, if they were accidentally misgendered by a reporter, or in the media, that would end up being a greater crime. Best avoid. Nothing to see here.

I am not seeking to reduce the impact of the crime, which is terrible, but the double-standards in media coverage for this type of thing.

you see him with his lawyers in jail?

they really beat him good.

he looked all broken.

maybe they will
try and sue the vet and queen for the beat down

excessive force or something.

They charged the shooter recently with 305 separate counts, including hate crimes. It seems if the shooter's claim to be non-binary was an attempt to avoid hate crime charges, it hasn't worked so far. That being said, hate crime charges shouldn't be avoided simply because the suspect isn't a straight, white male.

Some are baffled by the number of charges, but when crimes this heinous occur and the certainty of the suspect's guilt is not in doubt, a surplus of charges may be applied to ensure the criminal is convicted sufficiently to make an example of them. In other words, the prosecution wants to make sure they've covered all their bases and that something will stick, since there is no doubt the "alleged" is guilty of heinous crimes.

I have noticed an interesting trend in national news. While the shooter identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, many articles are written to avoid mentioning those pronouns. Locally, stories specifically about the shooter are rare. While support for Club Q and various fundraisers have been a frequent topic, you have to look to find updates on the specific case against the shooter.

Oops....

The FBI was aware of the accused Colorado Springs LGBTQ bar shooter the day before the suspect was arrested for making bomb threats against family members in June 2021, authorities have confirmed.

The 22-year-old who was charged with 305 counts in connection with the Nov. 19 mass killing, Anderson Lee Aldrich, was previously arrested on June 18, 2021, after threatening to kill family members at their home. 

Link
Same sh....different day