Panelists on CNN Tonight appeared to doubt the veracity of the Club Q shooter’s alleged non-binary identity Tuesday, and one panelist suggested the shooter’s attorneys were trying to avoid hate crime charges by garnering sympathy from LGBT people.
Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22, faces informal murder charges related to the shooting deaths of five people Saturday at Club Q, an LGBT nightclub in Colorado Springs. Aldrich’s lawyers now claim their defendant identifies as “non-binary,” uses “they/them” pronouns and should be referred to using the title “Mx.” rather than “Mr.” (RELATED: Men Keep Committing Heinous Crimes, Then Identifying As Women After Being Arrested. The Media Is Playing Along)
“I don’t know what to say about that,” said host Alisyn Camerota. “I mean, that’s not anything we had heard from his background. You know, people have been looking into his background, and I don’t know if anybody here — are you guys lawyers? I mean, you know, I don’t know what to say about that. That’s what he’s now saying.”
“It sounds like they’re trying to prepare a defense against a hate crimes charge,” CNN political commentator Errol Louis said. “That’s the least of his problems legally speaking, but it looks like they’re trying to build some kind of sympathy or at least confusion on the question of whether or not this was purely motivated by hate.”
WATCH:
Individuals who identify as nonbinary do not identify strictly as either male or female, and the identity is considered to fall under the transgender umbrella. The CNN panelists refused to use the killer’s preferred pronouns, using male pronouns instead, in the segment.
Corporate media outlets have widely speculated that the shooting was motivated by anti-LGBT hatred.
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