After Tucson’s deadly attack at a gay bar, Gov. Katie Hobbs was slow to speak publicly

Two men, Cameron Capara and Vincent Siqueiros, were killed outside Tucson's Venture-N, a longtime LGBTQ+ bar, in what police are investigating as a hate-related attack. Within hours, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero, city councilmembers, the police chief, the county attorney, and the state attorney general had issued statements of solidarity and condemnation.

Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is seeking reelection and has positioned herself as an LGBTQ+ ally, did not comment publicly until nearly a day after the attack was announced, and only after a news outlet's inquiry went unanswered and two reporters pressed her at an informal press gaggle. Her office later posted a solidarity statement on social media as well.

National officials, including U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva and Sen. Ruben Gallego, along with local LGBTQ+ organizations and Tucson's police department, which pledged increased patrols near LGBTQ+ venues, also responded. Community members described Venture-N as a small, close-knit neighborhood bar central to the city's queer social life.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.