https://www.opb.org/article/2022/11/23/colorado-gay-club-shooting-suspect/
In several standard motions filed on behalf of Anderson Lee Aldrich on Tuesday, public defenders refer to the suspect as “Mx. Aldrich," noting in footnotes that Aldrich, 22, is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. The motions deal with issues like unsealing documents and evidence gathering, not Aldrich's identity and there was no elaboration about it.
Real, or cynical ploy to avoid hate crime charges? how does court work, would this be at the discretion of prosecution to challenge, only if they saw fit? :cringe:
changed name before 16
A petition for the name change was submitted on Brink's behalf by their grandparents, who were their legal guardians at the time.
"Minor wishes to protect himself and his future from any connections to birth father and his criminal history. Father has had no contact with minor for several years," said the petition filed in Bexar County, Texas.
The suspect’s father is a mixed martial arts fighter and pornography performer with an extensive criminal history, including convictions for battery against the alleged shooter’s mother, Laura Voepel, both before and after the suspect was born, state and federal court records show. A 2002 misdemeanor battery conviction in California resulted in a protective order that initially barred the father, Aaron F. Brink, from contacting the suspect or Voepel except through an attorney, but was later modified to allow monitored visits with the child.
The father also was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in custody for importation of marijuana and while on supervised release violated his conditions by testing positive for illegal steroids, according to public records. Brink could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Aldrich's request for a name change came months after Aldrich was apparently targeted by online bullying. A website posting from June 2015 that attacked a teen named Nick Brink suggests they may have been bullied in high school. The post included photos similar to ones of the shooting suspect and ridiculed Brink over their weight, lack of money and what it said was an interest in Chinese cartoons.
Additionally, a YouTube account was opened in Brink's name that included an animation titled “Asian homosexual gets molested."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/11/21/colorado-springs-qbar-shooter/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/colorado-springs-mass-shooting-suspect-anderson-lee-aldrich-changed-name-teenager-records/
Clip of the shooter calling self "ya boy" during 2021 standoff with police https://twitter.com/madprofes/status/1594799319814545408
edited
Before I share this hot take, I want to clarify that I support all forms of gender identity and expression and am myself something of a noncommittal nb.
IMO There’s a particular type of contrarian who, in the face of being rightfully called out for their queer/transphobia, chooses that moment to “come out” as some type of gender identity.
For example, I’m pretty sure Destiny’s nb declaration coincides with him saying horrible things about trans people and being dismissive of why someone else felt the need to describe themselves as such (don’t quote me on this. My only engagement with that idiot is from the constant spam from his Reddit simps). Suddenly the story was instead about how HE is a enby and therefore has leeway to police other people and say transphobic things about them.
I think cishets are unaware of the variety of different gender identities and also are way too eager to ascribe a lot of import to anything to do with pronouns. Like, as someone who uses pronouns I mostly use it as a shorthand for other queer identities, but my usage isn’t the same as a binary trans person or even an nb who doesn’t want to be identified with their assigned gender at birth. I don’t get to say that all they/thems don’t need medical gender transition care because I choose not to use it.
If I choose to be as credulous as the media and assume this person is an nb, that doesn’t preclude them from being a violent genocidal queerphobe. There are even plenty of aggressively stupid queer people who choose to believe what the queerphobic media says about other queer people. The genocidal rhetoric of the media is still at fault for escalation.
Perhaps it's good to reflect on how when Kevin Spacey came out, everyone saw right through that as a way to distract from the SA accusations leveled at him.
That might be the quickest way to bring people back around.