Club Q hero Richard Fierro has watched many State of the Unions. Now he’s going.

Today, U.S. Rep. Jason Crow will bring Richard Fierro, the Army veteran who tackled the Club Q shooter, as his guest to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. 

In a virtual press conference ahead of the address, Crow, a Centennial Democrat, applauded Fierro for his actions to protect others on the day of the shooting at the LGBTQ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, and Fierro thanked Crow for the opportunity to tour the U.S. Capitol and attend a State of the Union address.  

“One of the things that Rich and I know is that when young men or women stand up and take that oath, it is a lifetime oath to serve our country and community,” Crow, a former army Ranger, said. “It doesn’t end when you take the uniform off, and there’s no greater illustration of that than Rich Fierro, who was compelled into action and service in the greatest tradition and spirit of military.”

Fierro went to Club Q the November night of the shooting with his wife, daughter and her boyfriend, Raymond Green Vance, who was one of the five people killed. He said while his wife and daughter are both recovering from their injuries, he and his family still have days when they struggle emotionally, and that the community support they’ve received since the shooting is what’s kept them going. 

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“It’s just amazing to see the community come together, and I’m very proud of what the Springs did following this, and hopefully it carries on into more positive things,” Fierro said. 

While he isn’t necessarily someone who likes to get involved politically, Fierro said he is still an American who loves democracy and that he’s been “blown away” to see first hand how the government operates in Washington, D.C., today. He said he’s beside himself being able to attend the State of the Union, an event he’s watched dozens of times on television. 

“I’ve watched it when I was a soldier, I’ve watched it when I was a kid, and now just to be a part of it is amazing and it’s a blessing, and I thanked the congressman more than once for inviting us up here and being gracious enough to show us around, so it was beautiful,” Fierro said.

Crow said gun violence prevention legislation should come down to common sense and small steps that can be taken to make the country safer. He said while there’s no one policy that will fix everything, implementing background check requirements and assault weapons bans are the next common sense steps he sees as necessary.  

“There are still people that die in car accidents, but I can tell you that there are substantially fewer people that die by car accidents now that we have headlights and tail lights and airbags and seat belts,” Crow said. “If there are things we can do that are common sense that we can build a coalition around that are broadly supported by people that also respects responsible firearm ownership and the heritage in America of that — which is important to me — then we should do it.”

Going into the State of the Union, Crow hopes to hear a message of unity from the president. 

“Resetting the tone about civility is something that I think is really important, and I gotta say, I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen so far,” Crow said. “Some of the meetings between Speaker (Kevin) McCarthy and the president have been civil, have been productive, and I think it’s really important that that message continue.”

The State of the Union is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Mountain time and can be livestreamed.