Transgender Day of Remembrance: Honoring those killed in anti-transgender violence

ORLANDO, Fla. — Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day that honors the memory of those murdered because of anti-transgender prejudice.

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As a transgender woman I honor and mourn for those women who were murdered for being themselves.

As a transgender woman I understand the fear that being myself could get me killed due to hate and prejudice.

As a journalist, I must remain unbiased and neutral in my reporting.

Read: Transgender Awareness Week aims to raise visibility for issues facing transgender people

Here are some facts:

TDOR takes place every year on Nov. 20 following Transgender Awareness Week, which helps to raise visibility for transgender people and address issues the community faces.

Transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith founded TDOR in 1999 as a vigil to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed in 1998.

Hester was a highly visible member of the transgender community in Boston, Massachusetts where she worked educating people on transgender issues.

On Nov. 28, 1998, Rita was stabbed 20 times in her apartment.

Now, more than two decades later, police still have not found Rita’s murderer(s).

Read: Family of transwoman killed in Orlando pleas for answers

It comes at time that the United States has elected it first sitting congressperson who is transgender.

Delaware Congresswoman Sarah McBride, a Democrat, is already being targeted by Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina, who introduced a resolution on Monday to “ban transgender women from using biological women’s restrooms at the U.S. Capitol.”

On Tuesday, Mace told reporters the bill is “absolutely” meant to target McBride.

“Sarah McBride doesn’t get a say,” Mace said on social media. “I mean, this is a biological man.” She said that Ms. McBride “does not belong in women’s spaces, women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms — period, full stop.”

Mace later told Scripps News that she planned to file bills that would extend that ban to any property that uses public funds.

Speaker Mike Johnson has now announced that single-sex bathrooms are “reserved for individuals of that biological sex.”

McBride responded on social meeting stating in part: “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms. I’m here to fight for Delawareans and to bring down costs facing families. Like all members, I will follow the rules as outlined by Speaker Johnson, even if I disagree with them.”

Read: Crowds flock to ‘Come Out With Pride’ celebration in Downtown Orlando

FACTS:

• Currently, the American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 558 anti-LGBTQ bills in states across the U.S.
• According to The Human Rights Campaign at least 30 transgender and gender non-conforming people have been killed in the United States in 2024.

The Trans Murder Monitoring report tracks murders reported in the media each year, this year’s report includes deaths between Oct 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024.

Since 2013, the Human Rights Campaign has tracked incidents of fatal trans violence— the same year the Federal Bureau of Investigation began reporting on hate crimes motivated by anti-trans bias— and provided action items that can help end the violence.

According to HRC, in 2024:

• 77% of victims were people of color
• 53% were Black Transgender women
• 60% were killed with a gun
• 39% of victims with a known killer were killed by a romantic partner, friend, or family member
• 40% were misgendered or deadnamed by authorities of the press

The fact is, as transgender woman, I fear for my safety everyday.

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