Club Q Tragedy Recognition




A Message From InterConnect



Dear InterConnect Community,
 
We are heartbroken, outraged, and horrified by the deadly attack on Club Q in Colorado Springs last Saturday night where 5 people lost their lives and at least 18 were injured. As an organization of intersex people, we deeply value the power and belonging of community spaces, and recognize just how terrifying and tragic it is for such unspeakable violence to devestate a nightclub that many have described as one of the few places they felt safe to be themselves alongside chosen family.

We want to remember and recognize the five individuals whose lives were cut devastatingly short by this act of violence and hatred. You can read more about their lives, as well as words of remembrance.
 
Daniel Aston 28 (he/him)
Kelly Loving 40 (she/her)
Ashley Paugh 35 (she/ her)
Raymond Green Vance 22 (he/him)
Derrick Rump 38 (he/him)

We send love, support, and care to all our InterConnect community during this terrible time, and especially to our members in Colorado. While no words or actions feel adequate in response to this kind of tragedy, we encourage those who want to contribute to the victims and families impacted by the Club Q shooting to donate to the official fundraiser. We continue to offer our Facebook and Discord groups as spaces for community care and processing, and everyone is welcome to reach out to the board and staff through email.
 
In community,
InterConnect Board + Staff

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear InterConnect Community

Image
    by Rebecca Baughman Kerns       As I sit here and reflect on the past two years, I’m so proud of the many milestones we achieved.  The in-person conference in Minneapolis was not only well-received but also a testament to the strength of our community.  Every time I turned around, I saw a new connection being made, a new memory being formed or a new friendship created.  The impulse to connect, as often as we can, is not to be overlooked.  Whether you have attended one conference or dozens, they are life changing.  Minnesota showcased many of the victories happening in our own community.  We had the chance to sit together and watch a documentary about our community, giving voice to our lives.  I hope everyone reading this has the opportunity to get together with others in the intersex community.  If you cannot make it to a meet-up, let us help you create one in your own area. Our monthly Zoom meetings have s...
Read more

Remembering InterConnect's Founder

Image
Sherri Groveman Morris On Monday, October 9, we learned of the passing of InterConnect ’s dear founder, Sherri Groveman Morris (1958-2023).  Sherri, an orchid legend, founded InterConnect in 1996 as the AISSG-US (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome Support Group, US Chapter) and was also actively involved with the Intersex Society of North American (ISNA). At that time, InterConnect functioned as a small support group for women with AIS.  Over the last 27 years, InterConnect has grown into an organization that supports people with all intersex variations and gender identities, their families, friends, and allies.  Dr. Charmian Quigley, who knew Sherri from InterConnect 's founding, wrote this about Sherri:  "Passionate and compassionate, committed, courageous, dedicated, warm, honest, human, humorous, driven, bold, articulate, engaging, our surrogate mother and grandmother, the matriarch of our family tree; the architect of a support movement that has blossomed over...
Read more

ABA Supports Intersex Bodily Autonomy

Image
American Bar Association Resolution supports intersex bodily autonomy   Last week, the American Bar Association (ABA) adopted resolution 511 supporting the bodily autonomy of children with intersex traits. Within resolution 511, the ABA “urges licensed professionals not to conduct or propose medical or surgical intervention on minors with intersex traits until the minor requests the proposed care, understands the impact of the proposed care as well as alternatives, is provided with affirming psychosocial supports, and gives informed consent or assent, except when immediate life-threatening circumstances require emergency intervention.” We applaud the ABA in their support of intersex children to make their own informed choices regarding their medical care. Read more HERE .
Read more