Reaction rolls in after extreme Pride Month rhetoric from the Colorado GOP

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - With Pride celebrations just around the corner in the Pikes Peak Region, voices from across the political spectrum are weighing in after the Colorado Republican Party sent out a mailer with language aiming to demonize the LGBTQIA+ community.

An email sent out on Monday was headed with an image titled, “God Hates Flags” and contained phrases like “godless groomers” and “God hates Pride”.

The email was followed by a tweet calling for the burning of Pride flags.

11 News reached out the the El Paso County Republican Party for comment.

The office of Colorado Governor Jared Polis sent 11 News a statement slamming the email:

Pikes Peak Pride Public Relations Director Matt Radcliffe said it’s alarming to hear such hateful and violent speech from a political party.

“Anytime a political party, a state political party, the state Republican Party, calls out a specific group of people based on their lifestyle, based on their identity, the only appropriate reaction is to be shocked by that,” he said.

Radcliffe said hateful words can lead to violent actions, something already seen in the killings at Club Q.

“The individual was indoctrinated by words of violence, words calling on hatred into an actual act of violence that resulted in the murders of people within our community here in Colorado Springs,” he said.

Colorado Springs Police Department Public Relations Manager Ira Cronin said, when it comes to any large event in downtown Colorado Springs, nothing is more important than keeping people safe.

“Ahead of any event, we are always keeping our ear to the ground across multiple different levels for what the temperatures is going into any event,” he said.

Cronin said they will have plenty of uniformed officers out on the street ready to help.

“If they see something that is not making them feel comfortable, if they see something they think is a little out of place please go up to one of those uniformed officers and just tell us know, we’ll look into us and we’re going to be there to respond to keep everyone safe,” he said.

Radcliffe said despite what has been said, nothing will stop the celebration they’re looking forward to.

“We are not going to be sent back into the closet, we’re not going to be silenced again,” he said. “We are here and we’re going to stay here and we’re going to celebrate who we are, our collective identity and we’re going to celebrate the richness that comes from that diversity.”