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data-activy-map="social-share-lks-article-top" data-ttid="social-share-menu"><li data-ttid="social-share-facebook" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_facebook__bOW_X"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-share-facebook"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-twter" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_twter__ww7sF"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-twter"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-ptert" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_ptert__CaMm1"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-share-ptert"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-email" class="styl_em__b5A78"><a href="mailto:?subject=Army veteran's stcts kicked as gunman opened fire si Club Q: 'I got to mo'& target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-share-email"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-py" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_py__RACZ3"><button type="button" class="styl_button__b3sx_"><span class="in in-lk"></span></button><div class="styl_pyTooltip__Ut_t1"><span class="in in-alt-check"></span></div></li><li data-ttid="social-share-sms" class="styl_em__b5A78 styl_sms__Vohh6"><a href="sms:?&body=Army veteran's stcts kicked as gunman opened fire si Club Q: 'I got to mo' via nbews - target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="styl_lk__RsJVU"><span class="in in-sms"></span></a></li><li data-ttid="social-share-prt" class="styl_prt__cw6Gn"><button type="button" class="styl_button__b3sx_"><span class="in in-share-prt styl_in__P3XZT"></span><span class="styl_text___8iNX">Prt</span></button></li><li data-ttid="social-share-save" class="styl_save__ILVuj"></li></ul></div><div class="article-body__date-source"><time class="relative z-1" dateTime="2022-11-22T14:51:59.253Z" ntent="2022-11-22T14:51:59.253Z">Nov. 21, 2022, 9:59 PM UTC<span> / </span>Updated<!-- --> <!-- -->Nov. 22, 2022, 2:51 PM UTC</time></div><div class="article-le-byle" data-activy-map="le-byle-article-top">By <span class="byle-name"><a href=">Deon J. Hampton</a></span>, <span class="byle-name"><a href=">Janelle Griffh</a></span> and <span class="byle-name"><a href=">Melissa Chan</a></span></div></sectn><div class="article-body__ntent article-body-font--loadg"><p class="">COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A rated army veteran who tackled the shooter who <a href=" target="_blank">killed five a Colorado Sprgs gay club </a>said he wanted to protect the close kn muny si the room. </p><p class="">Richard Fierro, 45, was at Club Q celebratg a birthday wh his wife, their dghter and her iends when he found himself one of two people who subdued the attacker armed wh an AR-15 style rifle and wearg a flak vt.</p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100"></div></div><div id="taboolaReadMoreBelow"></div><p class="">“I jt know I got to mo, and I need to save my fay — and my fay was at that time everybody that room,” he said a news nference outsi his home on Monday.</p><p class="">“That's what I was traed to do. I saw him and I went and got him...  I tried to save people and didn’t work out for five. There’s five people who aren’t home right now."</p><p class="">“I didn’t ask for this,” he said, addg he was there to watch his dghter’s junr prom date perform. “I’m not a hero, I’m jt some du,” he said.</p><p class="">Fierro served the ary for 15 years, dog tours Iraq and Afghanistan, before leavg as a major.</p><figure class="styl_leImage__yAWZ0 styl_small__5hUB_"><picture class="styl_image__1qciH"><source media="(m-width: 1240px)" srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><source media="(m-width: 1000px)" srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><source media="(m-width: 758px)" srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><source srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><img loadg="lazy" src=" alt="Jsi Fierro." height="475" width="508"/></picture><figptn class="ptn styl_ptn__Pe5JC"><span class="ptn__ntaer">Jsi Fierro</span><span class="ptn__source">via Facebook</span></figptn></figure><p class="">Authori on Monday intified Fierro and Thomas Jam as the patrons who stopped the gunman after he opened fire jt before midnight. </p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100"></div></div><p class="">“I have never enuntered a person who had engaged such heroic actns who was so humble about ,” Colorado Sprgs Mayor John Suthers said of Fierro durg a news nference Monday. “He simply said to me, ‘I was tryg to protect my fay.’”</p><p class="">In an terview at her home Monday afternoon, Jsi Fierro scribed her hband's heroic efforts to prevent greater tragedy.</p><p class="">“My hband took the gunman down,” she said. “My hband knocked the guns out of his hands and took the pistol and lerally started htg the guy wh .”</p><p class="">“We were havg a great time, we were all on the dance floor and om one mute to the next you jt heard gunshots and everyone was separated and jt started nng,” she said. “It was absolute chaos.”</p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100"></div></div><p class="">Her hband yelled for someone to ll the police, she said. </p><p class="">At the time, another man who had fallen to the ground, got up and started kickg the gunman. Fierro jured his hands, kne and ankl apprehendg the shooter, his wife said.</p><sectn class="le-vio le-vio---body"><div class="le-vio__background"><div class="le-vio__player"><div class="vioPlayer styl_vioPlayer__bL8AJ styl_adNotPlayg__Q51_C styl_alignDktopBottom__4cHaO styl_alignMobileBottom__bhgkQ"><div class="vioSlate"><a href=" class="allowClicksOnPreview"><picture class=""><source media="(m-width: 1240px)" srcSet="><source media="(m-width: 758px)" srcSet="><img loadg="lazy" src=" height="1080" width="1920"/></picture></a><div class="playButtonOuter absolute absolute-fill w100 dn-prt"><div class="absolute absolute-fill w100 df ems-center ems-center-m jtify-center jtify-center-m"><div class="play le-vio__play-button"><svg class="play--in" xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 15 15" prerveAspectRat="xMidYMid" style="max-width:30px"><path d="M0 0v15l15-7.41z" fill-le="evenodd"></path></svg></div></div></div></div><div id="154835525903"></div></div></div></div><div class="le-vio__"><h2 class="le-vio__tle"><a href=">Survivors of Colorado Sprgs shootg speak out</a></h2><span class="le-vio__tail"><span>Nov. 22, 2022</span><span>02:30</span></span><div class="styl_share__n3Syu le-vio__share dn-prt"><div class="styl_shareExpanr__hVk8d le-vio__share-expanr styl_hoverEffect___Dj4s"><span class="styl_shareDot__9pfRZ le-vio__share-dot"></span><svg class="styl_shareClose__6BZxR le-vio__share-close" viewBox="0 0 15 15"><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="0" y2="15"></le><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="15" y2="0"></le></svg></div><div class="styl_shareList___M8wC le-vio__share-list"><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-facebook styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-twter styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href="mailto:?subject=Survivors of Colorado Sprgs shootg speak out& class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-email styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a></div></div></div></sectn><p class="">As gunfire epted, Jsi Fierro ma her way to a pat area, she said.</p><div class="remend-tersectn-ref" data-activy-map="remend-article-body-remend"></div><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100"></div></div><p class="">“I was zoned, I was dazed, I was sred,” she said. But her hband remaed si.</p><p class="">Jsi Fierro said her two bt iends were shot and her dghter broke her knee nng for ver. She said her <a href=" target="_blank">dghter’s boyiend was killed </a> the attack.</p><p class="">The 22-year-old spect was arrted by police who arrived wh mut, thori said Sunday. He was arrted on spicn of five unts of first gree murr and five unts of bias motivated or hate crim.</p><figure class="styl_leImage__yAWZ0 styl_medium__OMa6x"><picture class="styl_image__1qciH"><source media="(m-width: 1000px)" srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><source srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><img loadg="lazy" src=" alt="Richard Fierro durg a news nference outsi his home on Monday, speakg about his efforts to subdue the gunman Saturday's shootg at Club Q, Colorado Sprgs." height="2000" width="3000"/></picture><figptn class="ptn styl_ptn__Pe5JC"><span class="ptn__ntaer">Richard Fierro durg a news nference outsi his home on Monday.</span><span class="ptn__source">Jack Dempsey / AP</span></figptn></figure><p class="">Joe Aldaz, a fay iend, had not heard of Fierro’s actns as of Monday afternoon, but said such bravery would e naturally for the veteran.</p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100"></div></div><p class="">“I know Rich Fierro,” Aldaz said. “That would not surprise me that he would jump to that type of heroism.”</p><p class="">Aldaz is the print of the Colorado Sprgs Hispanic Chamber and said Jsi and Richard Fierro are members. The uple own <a href=" target="_blank">Atrevida Beer Co</a>., which opened January 2018.</p><sectn class="le-vio le-vio---body"><div class="le-vio__background"><div class="le-vio__player"><div class="vioPlayer styl_vioPlayer__bL8AJ styl_adNotPlayg__Q51_C styl_alignDktopBottom__4cHaO styl_alignMobileBottom__bhgkQ"><div class="vioSlate"><a href=" class="allowClicksOnPreview"><picture class=""><source media="(m-width: 1240px)" srcSet="><source media="(m-width: 758px)" srcSet="><img loadg="lazy" src="></picture></a><div class="playButtonOuter absolute absolute-fill w100 dn-prt"><div class="absolute absolute-fill w100 df ems-center ems-center-m jtify-center jtify-center-m"><div class="play le-vio__play-button"><svg class="play--in" xmlns=" viewBox="0 0 15 15" prerveAspectRat="xMidYMid" style="max-width:30px"><path d="M0 0v15l15-7.41z" fill-le="evenodd"></path></svg></div></div></div></div><div id="154964037868"></div></div></div></div><div class="le-vio__"><h2 class="le-vio__tle"><a href=">Veteran who stopped Colorado Sprgs gunman: ‘I jt did what I had to do’</a></h2><span class="le-vio__tail"><span>Nov. 22, 2022</span><span>00:49</span></span><div class="styl_share__n3Syu le-vio__share dn-prt"><div class="styl_shareExpanr__hVk8d le-vio__share-expanr styl_hoverEffect___Dj4s"><span class="styl_shareDot__9pfRZ le-vio__share-dot"></span><svg class="styl_shareClose__6BZxR le-vio__share-close" viewBox="0 0 15 15"><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="0" y2="15"></le><le class="styl_shareLe__EJUjO" x1="0" x2="15" y1="15" y2="0"></le></svg></div><div class="styl_shareList___M8wC le-vio__share-list"><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-facebook styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href=" class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-twter styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a><a href="mailto:?subject=Veteran who stopped Colorado Sprgs gunman: ‘I jt did what I had to do’& class="styl_shareLk__gSGN3" target="_blank" rel="noopen noreferrer"><span class="in in-email styl_shareIn__lVnRm le-vio__share-in"></span></a></div></div></div></sectn><p class="">A Bronze Star Medal recipient, Fierro served as a field artillery officer the Army om June 1999 to November 2013, and held the rank of Major at the end of service, the Army said. </p><p class="">Bis the Bronze Star, which is given to service members who have “distguished himself or herself by heroic or meror achievement or service,” he was also award several other mendatn and achievement medals.</p><div class="ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer boxleAd dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxle" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[]],[[758,1],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[728,90],[360,360]]],[[0,0],[[300,250],[700,50],[5,5],[360,360]]]]" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te" data-offset-viewport="100"></div></div><p class="">Acrdg to a bgraphy on San Diego State Universy's webse, Fierro graduated as the AROTC Distguished Milary Grad 1999. He spent the next 15 years the Army servg var posns cludg platoon lear, battery manr, battaln operatns officer, briga plans officer and rps unter fire officer. </p><div class="remend-tersectn-ref" data-activy-map="remend-article-body-remend"></div><p class="">He earned his MBA om the <a href=" target="_blank">Universy of Colorado, Colorado Sprgs</a> last year. </p><p class="endmark"><em>Deon J. Hampton reported om Colorado Sprgs, and Janelle Griffh and Melissa Chan reported om New York.</em></p></div><div class="expand-byle-ntributors articleByleContaer"><div class="expand-byle article-expand-byle" data-activy-map="expand-byle-article-bottom"><span class="byle-thumbnail byle-thumbnail--no-image expand-byle__thumbnail"></span><span class="byle-name expand-byle__name"><a href=">Deon J. Hampton</a></span><span class="byle-social expand-byle__social"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="byle-social--lk"><span class="in in-twter"></span></a><a href="" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="byle-social--lk"><span class="in in-email"></span></a></span><div class="expand-byle__b-wrapper"><p class="byle-b expand-byle__b">Deon J. Hampton is a natnal reporter for NBC News.</p></div></div><div class="expand-byle article-expand-byle" data-activy-map="expand-byle-article-bottom"><div class="byle-thumbnail byle-thumbnail--has-image expand-byle__thumbnail"><a href="><picture><source srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><img loadg="lazy" src=" alt="" height="48" width="48"/></picture></a></div><span class="byle-name expand-byle__name"><a href=">Janelle Griffh</a></span><span class="byle-social expand-byle__social"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="byle-social--lk"><span class="in in-twter"></span></a><a href="" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="byle-social--lk"><span class="in in-email"></span></a></span><div class="expand-byle__b-wrapper"><p class="byle-b expand-byle__b">Janelle Griffh is a natnal reporter for NBC News focg on issu of race and policg.</p></div></div><div class="expand-byle article-expand-byle" data-activy-map="expand-byle-article-bottom"><div class="byle-thumbnail byle-thumbnail--has-image expand-byle__thumbnail"><a href="><picture><source srcSet=" 2x, 1x"/><img loadg="lazy" src=" alt="" height="48" width="48"/></picture></a></div><span class="byle-name expand-byle__name"><a href=">Melissa Chan</a></span><span class="byle-social expand-byle__social"><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="byle-social--lk"><span class="in in-twter"></span></a><a href="" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="byle-social--lk"><span class="in in-email"></span></a></span><div class="expand-byle__b-wrapper"><p class="byle-b expand-byle__b">Melissa Chan is a reporter for NBC News Digal wh a foc on veterans’ issu, mental health the ary and gun vlence.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body--right-rail-ntaer"><div class="article-body__right-rail layout-grid-em grid-l-4_5-l grid-l-3_5-xl grid-l-ph-half-xl"><div class="ad article-body__right-rail--ad ad--text-alignment ad-ntaer dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="boxrail" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[[300,250],[360,360]]],[[758,1],[]],[[0,0],[]]]" data-offset="10" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te"></div></div></div></div></div><div class="body-bottom-remend"><div class="ad ad--midrponsive ad-ntaer dn-prt"><div data-mps="te" data-slot="midrponsive" data-siz="[[[1000,1],[[700,1],[5,5]]],[[758,1],[]],[[0,0],[]]]" data-offset="300" data-reh-terval="0" data-renr-on-view="te" data-targetg="{}" data-active-tab="te"></div></div></div></div></div></article></div></div><div id="hfs-footer" class="dn-prt" data-activy-map="hfs-footer"><footer class="hfsf" ><div class="ner"><div class="logo"><a href="><svg class="peack" viewBox="578 62 67 39" xmlns=" fill="currentColor"><g fill-le="evenodd"><path d="M579.074 90.58c1.717-4.494 6.472-6.08 10.697-3.37l18.29 12.754h-22.18c-4.62 0-8.252-4.23-6.8-9.385"></path><path class="feather" d="M579.074 90.58c1.717-4.494 6.472-6.08 10.697-3.37l18.29 12.754h-22.18c-4.62 0-8.252-4.23-6.8-9.385"></path><path class="feather" d="M597.563 75.863l9.442 21.613-19.478-13.35c-4.887-3.24-3.896-8.79-1.19-11.237 3.83-3.24 9.245-2.12 11.226 2.97"></path><path class="feather" d="M610.57 70.93l-3.433 24.19-9.772-23c-2.113-5.75 2.64-9.516 5.81-9.583 3.632-.396 8.188 2.38 7.396 8.394"></path><path class="feather" d="M625.494 72.103l-9.707 23.067-3.102-20.82c-.265-3.17 1.716-3.237 2.443-3.832-.133-.463-1.124-.463-1.124-.463h-1.848c-.198-5.42 4.028-7.8 7.462-7.535 3.697.132 7.856 4.428 5.876 9.583"></path><path class="feather" d="M635.338 84.167L615.86 97.584l9.177-21.348c2.775-6.742 9.245-5.42 11.556-2.842 2.51 2.51 3.235 7.6-1.255 10.773"></path><path class="feather" d="M637.448 99.9h-22.515l18.29-12.756c4.49-2.975 9.244-.266 10.498 3.635 1.327 4.36-1.65 9.12-6.27 9.12"></path></g></svg></a></div><nav class="lks"><ul class="lks__wrap" data-l-2="14" data-l-3=15><li><a href=" target="_self">About</a></li><li><a href=" target="_self">Contact</a></li><li><a href=">Help</a></li><li><a href=">Careers</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Ad Choic</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Privacy Policy</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Do Not Sell My Personal Informatn</a></li><li><a href=" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">CA Notice</a></li><li><a href=">New Terms of Service (Updated JULY 7, 2023)</a></li><li><a href=">NBC News Semap</a></li><li><a href=">Advertise</a></li><li><a href=" target="_self">Select Shoppg</a></li><li><a href=" target="_self">Select Personal Fance</a></li></ul></nav><div class="py"><p>© 2023 NBC UNIVERSAL</p><div class="brands"><a href="><svg viewBox="0 0 120 20" fill="none" xmlns=" aria-labelledby="nbc_news_logo"><tle class="nbc_news_logo">NBC News Logo

gay bar hero

A rated army veteran who tackled the shooter who killed five a Colorado Sprgs gay club said he wanted to protect the close kn muny si

Contents:

A MEMOIR ABOUT QUEER INTY, TOLD ONE GAY BAR AT A TIME

In his new memoir, “Gay Bar,” Jeremy Atherton L documents his personal history and the history of queer inty by explorg gay bars around the world. * gay bar hero *

A man who has been lled a hero for helpg subdue the spect the adly Colorado Sprgs gay nightclub mass shootg has spoken out about what he experienced si the venue. AdvertisementSKIP Jeremy Atherton LWhen you purchase an penntly reviewed book through our se, we earn an affiliate 9, 2021GAY BARWhy We Went OutBy Jeremy Atherton LHistory, as is tght, is a straight le of domo fallg — the relentls clack of fact htg fact, an orrly que of aly stretchg on forever. History, as is lived, is a reelg spiral of flight and return; the erative reawakeng of new selv faiar plac; a never-endg terrogatn of our own nfed and nfg motiv; a msy slather of dots on a graph where the center n be plotted only Atherton L’s betiful, lyril memoir, “Gay Bar: Why We Went Out, ” cloaks this lived history that learned history, examg an objective subject — gay bars — to create a highly subjective object: a book about his life, flensed down to jt the bs that ma past the chapter foc on one particular gay bar (jumpg om London to Los Angel to San Francis and back), s history and s place the trajectory of Atherton L’s life.

Atherton L himself is renred only relatn to the bars he walks through; you’ll fd yourself hard-prsed at the end to say where he was born or how many siblgs he has (and you won’t re) Atherton L has a five-octave, Mariah Carey-que range for discsg gay sex. Like any good gay bar, this book has a bouncer, and his name is is Atherton L’s first book, but benefs om his extensive experience as an sayist and an edor of Failed Stat, a journal about plac.

“Gay Bar” is well crafted (which is pecially pleasg nsirg this is a memoir about stctur), wh a strong thorial hand that mak the rear feel refully shepherd through the text, even as Atherton L jumps s and ntents.

COLORADO GAY BAR SHOOTG: HERO VETERAN SAYS HIS ARY STCTS KICKED TO SAVE LOVED ON

Hero Gay Bar Taipei is a fun gay bar wh small dance floor and regular themed party nights like shirts off, popular wh lol boys and tourists, * gay bar hero *

When he discs an important 1966 prott at the historic Greenwich Village gay bar Juli’, he c a New York Tim article to talk about the “tr of activists” volved — not realizg that the article left out a fourth man, Randy Wicker (the only one still alive, cintally enough) a half page later, though, Atherton L warns that spe the activist claim that gay bars “should be kept open to facilate knowledge passg between generatns, ” he himself had never really received gay wisdom “on a barstool. ” This book is not about history, the subject you study, but history, that thg you have wh that guy by the jebox whose name you n’t the fal chapter of “Gay Bar, ” Atherton L grappl wh gog to a new generatn of bars, created by very different forc, meetg very different needs.

TIM MILLER: ‘YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE TO BE A HERO AT A GAY BAR’

* gay bar hero *

The heroic army veteran who bundled the Colorado gay bar shooter to the ground has tearfully scribed how his stcts om his ary trag immediately kicked , orr to protect his loved Rich Fierro first realized the gunman was sprayg bullets si the club, he ducked to avoid any potential g fire, then moved to try to disarm the shooter. Nam of the victims are shown on a rabow durg a ndlelight vigil on a rner near the se of a weekend mass shootg at a gay bar, late Monday, November 21, 2022 A pair of mourners were emotnal at a vigil held outsi Club Q Colorado Sprgs last night as they remembered the victims of the tragedyPeople embrace durg a ndlelight vigil on a rner near the se of a weekend mass shootg at a gay bar, late Monday, November 21, 2022, Colorado SprgsColorado Sprgs Mayor John Suthers, left, nfers wh Colorado 4th Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen durg a news nference about the weekend mass shootg at a gay bar, Monday, November 21, 2022Nic Grezcka, -owner of Club Q, listens durg a news nference about the weekend mass shootg at the gay bar, Monday, November 21, 2022, Colorado SprgsBut landlord Llie Bowman tells she was the one who alerted thori to her home, after Voepel - the spect's mother - phoned her to tell her 'people' were lookg for her son. Jeremiah Harris, who is 24 and gay, said he went to the club a uple tim a month and regnized one of the victims as the bartenr who always served him.

It also rekdled memori of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 2006, there have been 523 mass killgs and 2, 727 aths as of Nov. This 3 bedroom apartment has a livg room wh flat screen TV and a fully equipped kchen wh a washer and dryer, a bathroom wh shower and ee WiFi, Close to all the gay bars and rtrants.

— A rated army veteran who tackled the shooter who killed five a Colorado Sprgs gay club said he wanted to protect the close kn muny si the room.

HERO BAR, GAY BAR TAIPEI

Lookg for the bt gay bars and clubs Boston? Check out the LGBTQ-iendly plac for partyg, drag shows and more. * gay bar hero *

If you felt a twge of boredom (bon if you thrill to disheveled, elive, gamy), then I have a book for Atherton L’s “Gay Bar” is a rtls and telligent cultural history of queer nightlife. In the openg scene, Atherton L and his partner (rather regrettably referred to as the Famo Blue Raat, after the Leonard Cohen song) go out to a London gay bar, lookg for a ltle adventure, and enter a crowd: “Wh a kd of btal elegance, the group spread apart like the blas of a pocketknife.

IN ‘GAY BAR,’ TIME-HOPPG SNAPSHOTS OF QUEER NIGHTLIFE

Author Jeremy Atherton L wr of the history of gay bars, as their existence is threatened by the populary of datg apps and risg property sts, and reflects on their prence his life. * gay bar hero *

Atherton L is a skilled rear of the signifiers of cloth and archecture, the fetishizatn of workg-class fashn, for example, and how the rise of AIDS fluenced sign cisns: “A new type of gay bar began to appear London’s Soho the ’90s — airy, glossy, ntental.

) Most jarrg, perhaps, are Atherton L’s efforts at mimickg the theorists he clearly admir, those sectns that e across as parodi of amic wrg: “If the word muny is ed a failure of vobulary — too broad, too utopian — perhaps the metaphor to bt replace is metaphor self”; “gay bars are about potentialy, not rolutn.

THE BT GAY BARS BOSTON

From Wonr Woman to Northstar, here are some of the most groundbreakg LGBTQ characters and gay superhero Marvel and DC Comics non. * gay bar hero *

He’s already told what he most miss about gay bars; how movgly he replit here, wh his wi, strobg tellect, enliveng skepticism, raslly allure: “Perhaps you uld ll a gay bar a galaxy: We are held together but kept om llidg by a fe balance of momentum and gravy.

Atherton L's book starts off a crowd room a gay bar where he's gone cisg wh his partner, whom he refers to throughout the book wh the Leonard Cohen-spired nickname Famo Blue Raat.

That kd of gay bar — all kds of gay bars, really — are danger of closg, Atherton L wr, due to the populary of datg apps and risg property sts. He wr betifully about his llege days Los Angel, where he went to his first one, though he n't rell the name, wryly notg, "Of urse I n't remember my first gay bar — I was dnk.

'GAY BAR' TRACKS THE WAVE OF A WHOLE CULTURE — AND ONE LIFE

" That history clus the famo 1969 uprisg at the Stonewall Inn New York, but Atherton L also div to other, lser-known bars, cludg on that endured police raids meant to put gay people their place.

" Atherton L explor topics like archecture and urban geography, as they relate to gay bars, betifully; he wr wh a real knowledge that's more than jt tellectual dilettantism. About the changg looks of bars before the turn of the century, he observ, "A new type of gay bar began to appear London's Soho the neti — airy, glossy, ntental.

THE 42 BT GAY BARS AMERI

" Along the way, Atherton L dips to other topics related to the gay muny: the appropriatn of gay culture by straight people, mic, drkg, and the valu of the younger generatn of LGBTQ people. And while succeeds on many levels, perhaps the most remarkable one is Atherton L's nstant qutng of himself, and the realizatns of how he's changed sce he walked to his first gay bar years ago: "Maybe, I thought, I'm a dis ball. Leve is a big fan of the X-Men (who have a handful of gay characters) and the Transformers (all of whom seem straight) and has been readg ics sce he was 8.

’ ”The Sk Tight party — which the stum range om the faiar (like Spir-Man) to on that only a ics geek would regnize (like the 1993 versn of Superboy) — is one way that gay, lbian, bisexual and transgenr ic book fans are exprsg themselv today. But wasn’t that long ago that the environment was ls than welg for those who wanted to make the two seemgly disparate worlds Kelbgh for The New York Tim“Growg up the ’80s, I gus I didn’t even thk gay super-hero or supportg characters were a possibily, ” Dan Avery, 37, an edor of Next, a gui to gay night life New York Cy, wrote an e-mail msage. Someone who unrstands the past reluctance to e out is Andy Mangels, 43, who sce 1988 has morated the “Gays Comics” panel at the Comic-Con Internatnal San Diego.

Mangels said a recent telephone the ic book dtry has moved beyond the hysteria ed by “Sctn of the Innocent” — the 1954 book by the psychiatrist Fredric Wertham that suggted a lk between readg ics and juvenile lquency, saw Batman and Rob as a homosexual uple, and posed Wonr Woman as a fan of sadomasochism — te gay and lbian characters have been slow to Mangels ced issue No. Jim Shooter, the wrer, jtified the scene by sayg was based on cints that happened to a iend and and lbian characters fared better the unrground ic movement wh pneers (and gay creators) like Howard Cse and Roberta Gregory. “The Amazg Adventur of Kavalier & Clay, ” the Pulzer Prize-wng novel by Michael Chabon, chronicled both the paranoia about ics the 1950s and Sam Clay’s stggle wh his gay inty.

“WE HAVE A GAY BAR HERE.” YOU DON’T NEED A COAST TO BE COSMOPOLAN

Chabon said a 2007 terview wh In terviews wh several gay fans, the reasons given for gravatg toward ics were as varied as the hero’ stum: everythg om pism to “hot men tights” to embodyg the X-Men’s msage, “seekg acceptance om a world that hat and fears them purely for who they are.

“I thk that some young gay boys and men are more attracted to that than the average kid bee they have one extra fight to fight than jt beg the wimpy kid school, ” said Bob Schreck, a bisexual ic book edor who worked on Green Lantern, which clud a gay-bashg storyle. The team was created by Allan Heberg, a wrer on “Grey’s Anatomy, ” who said his edor supported his sire to clu gay of the most proment lbian hero, The Qutn and Batwoman, are at DC Comics.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY BAR HERO

“We Have A Gay Bar Here.” You Don’t Need A Coast to Be Cosmopolan ‹ Lerary Hub.

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