The Texas chapters of Moms Demand Action and Students Demand Action, both part of Everytown for Gun Safety’s grassroots networks, released the following statement after a transgender woman was shot and killed in Houston on Saturday. At this time, her name has not been released to the public.
“Our hearts are with everyone who knew and loved this woman,” said Karin Knapp, a volunteer with the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action. “Yet our thoughts alone won’t bring her back, nor will they address the epidemic of hate-fueled, anti-trans gun violence. We will continue fighting against gun violence in all of its forms as we steadfastly advocate for the safety of transgender and gender non-conforming Texans.”
This person’s death is at least the 5th violent killing of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2022 in the United States and Puerto Rico. It’s likely there have been more deaths that have gone unreported or victims who have been misgendered. This comes at a time when we’re seeing dangerous gun bills and anti-trans bills pop up across various state legislatures, creating an environment ripe for easily armed anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment.
Some trends from 2017 to 2021 that researchers fear will continue in 2022:
- There was an 93% increase in incidents of tracked transgender homicides from 2017 to 2021 (from 29 incidents in 2017 to 56 incidents in 2021).
- Guns are the most frequently used weapon in the murder of trans people. Nearly three-fourths of trans people killed in America were killed with a gun.
Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund has tracked homicides of transgender and gender non-comforming people in the U.S. since 2017. In addition to breaking down gun violence to the state- and county-level, the platform includes a database of known trans or gender nonconforming homicide victims in the United States.
