The Denver Post has slammed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and other extremists across the nation for perpetuating the rhetoric that fuels fear and hate against LGBTQ people following Saturdays mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado.

We are weary of writing versions of the same editorial over and over again, the newspapers editorial board wrote days after a gunman killed five people and injured at least 18 others at Club Q in Colorado Springs. Thoughts and prayers do not end gun violence. Words matter. Hateful, intolerant speech has no place in public discourse.

While the gunman is responsible for firing those bullets, the Post wrote, there are those among us who fed a narrative of hate and intolerance, failing to either understand or care where those words can lead.

The paper, which is routinely critical of Boebert, noted that she had tweeted that the shooting was absolutely awful and that the victims & their families are in my prayers. Her missive was not well-received in light of her glorification of guns and bigotry toward the LGBTQ community.

Boebert has repeatedly participated in the false, right-wing narrative that educating children about gender identity and allowing trans youth to receive gender-affirming care is somehow grooming and sexualizing them, and has also directed vitriol toward kid-friendly drag shows. Criticized for her past comments in the wake of Saturdays shooting, she doubled down , saying: I have never had bad rhetoric towards anyone and their personal preference as an adult. What Ive criticized is the sexualization of our children. And Ive criticized men dressing up as caricatures of women.

Boebert was rightly excoriated for her role in elevating hateful speech against the LGBTQ community, the Post wrote. As an added bonus, her hard-line positions on gun control, ruling out even common sense measures, mean she would not have supported any efforts that might have kept guns out of this shooters possession.

Read the full editorial here .