Megan is at least the 24th trans or gender non-conforming person to be killed by a gun in 2023, and more than 75% of all fatal shootings against the transgender community in that year involved guns.
According to a 2022 report from Everytown for Gun Safety, in collaboration with HRC and The Equality Federation Institute Fund, “Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ Bias and Guns Are Taking Lives of Countless LGBTQ Persons,” there are nearly 70 cases of hate crimes per day in the United States. The report also identifies a significant rise in anti-LGBT+ hate crimes, particularly those directed at trans people. The FBI recorded a record-high number of hate crimes related to gender identity in 2022, the most recent year for which data are available, including a 3% increase in hate acts based on gender identity from the previous year.
People who identify as transgender or gender non-conforming are explicitly protected from bias in Maryland’s public spaces, housing, education, and employment. In Maryland, the hate crimes law recognizes gender identity and sexual orientation as protected characteristics. We have just witnessed some political advancements that support and affirm transgender people, but the states have also experienced unprecedented anti-LGBT+ attacks.
In addition to rejecting harmful anti-transgender policies at the local, state, and national levels and demanding better from our elected representatives, we must also take all necessary steps to put an end to this violence. It is evident that transgender women of color, particularly Black transgender women, are disproportionately affected by deadly violence. We can all work together to foster understanding, accept love, and eradicate shame for everyone in the trans and gender non-conforming community because the intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia, and homophobia conspire to deprive them of necessities to live and thrive.
