The events at Club Q are a horrible tragedy beyond reason. That the LGBTQ community should need to fear and be subjected to continued attacks like this after Orlando, New Orleans and others is crushing. The effect on Grand County was palpable. This happened only two hours away, and any one of us could have been there. We have friends who live in Denver who are even closer. Checking in with them and making sure they were okay was no less difficult than the calls and texts we received from family members making sure that we were unharmed.

It is 2022, and instead of moving into the future, we seem to be forever sliding into the past. And it’s not a sudden change, because like the overturning of Roe v. Wade, people have been working for more years than believable to roll back these rights for women and minority groups. It’s sad that Liana and I have to think about emergency plans if the politics in our country change to the point where it simply isn’t safe to live here — and I don’t mean unsafe in Grand County, I mean the United States. Looking into countries with work-visa programs or where friends live and then cross referencing that with whether it is accepted or even legal to be gay or transgender is heart wrenching.

All we can do is hope and love each other right now. Many of us are too scared to do anything else.

Stephanie Aghajanian is the organizer of Grand County Pride, which is currently seeking status as a registered nonprofit to support the LGBTQ community in Grand County.