LGBTQ group vandalizes Focus on the Family sign after gay bar mass shooting: “Their blood is on your hands”
by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – A group claiming to represent the LGBTQ community has admitted responsibility for writing “THEIR BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS” on a sign belonging to the Focus on the Family Christian ministry headquarters in Colorado Springs following the recent deadly mass shooting at the local Club Q gay bar, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
According to Colorado Springs Police, on the night of Thursday, November 24, a sign outside the Focus on the Family office was defaced with the spray-painted phrases “THEIR BLOOD IS ON YOUR HANDS” and “FIVE LIVES TAKEN.”
The vandalism was a reference to the shooting carried out by Anderson Aldrich at Club Q on November 22, in which five people were killed and 18 were wounded. Gunman Aldrich identifies as “non-binary” and goes by the pronouns they/them, although his father Aaron Brink told CBS 8 he is a Mormon conservative Republican who taught his son, “We don’t do gay.”
In a statement, the “Members of the Front Range Queer Community” said they took responsibility for the defacement, which they claimed was in response to Focus on the Family’s “hateful” theology, CP reports.
“We chose to proceed with this action because of the incredible violence that Focus on the Family continues to perpetuate against the 2SLQBTQIA community,” the Members’ statement said.
“Focus on the Family likes to promote themselves as people who are ‘bringing about the kingdom of [God],’ but we want to remind you that even the [Bible] warns us to be cautious of folks such as these,” the Members’ statement continued.
“2 Corinthians 11:14-15 reminds us that ‘even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light, so it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.’”
Responding to the incident, Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, told The Christian Post: “We recognize the community is hurting in the aftermath of the reckless and violent actions of a very disturbed individual. This is a time for prayer, grieving, and healing, not vandalism and the spreading of hate. Focus on the Family is privileged to be one of many organizations in our city positioned to help and support the needs of struggling individuals and families. The families of the five individuals killed in Saturday night’s senseless attack are in our prayers. We urge everyone to pray for peace, and we also pray for the individual or group responsible for this mischievous and unwarranted defacing of our ministry’s property.”