'Threads of joy' connect communities in the fight for LGBTQ rights in Colorado

Colorado has made multiple strides toward representation and equality for queer residents. The Movement Advancement Project, an independent think tank, gives our state high ratings for a range of policies that protect sexual orientation and gender identity. This marks a big change from a few decades earlier, when Colorado was dubbed the 'Hate State' after voters approved a 1992 ballot initiative, Amendment 2, that prohibited state and local governments from granting protections for LGBTQ residents. Activists responded by organizing a successful boycott against Colorado, steering tourists and businesses away from the state. Amendment 2 was eventually struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Still, being queer in Colorado doesn’t come without anxiety or very real fears for your physical safety. Nearly one year ago, the mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, revived and deepened some of those worries. 

Susy Bates, campaign director at One Colorado, says it’s critically important we hold onto the memory of the victims, the survivors, and of what happened at Club Q. She and her colleagues just wrapped up a monthlong statewide listening tour that stopped in more than a dozen communities across the state. We sat down with her to learn what she heard at those meetings — and why she remains hopeful through it all.