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As Anti-Trans Policy Attacks Increase, So Does Violence

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Ash Orr (they/he)

National Center for Transgender Equality Statement on Club Q Shooting

The National Center for Transgender Equality released the following statement concerning the deadly shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colo.

“Violence against LGBTQ people is on the rise. It’s no coincidence that this hate crime occurred following a campaign and legislative season that saw increasingly vicious attacks against our community. The rhetoric and the legislative attempts to erase transgender people sends a signal that violence toward us is tolerated,” said Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Members of our community deserve to be treated with dignity and respect, and we shouldn’t have to fear for our lives just for living as our true selves.”

“We are heartbroken for the lives that have been lost, for those who have been injured and the pain and fear that this attack has caused for people all over the world,” Heng-Lehtinen said. “And we are grateful for the quick actions of people in Club Q that kept this tragedy from being even worse.”

“When elected leaders put a target on transgender people, when they try to deny us health care or keep transgender students from competing in sports, when they call us names and suggest we are a threat to other people, they put every member of our community in danger,” Heng-Lehtinen said.

On Nov. 18, The National Center for Transgender Equality released its 2022 Remembrance Report ahead of Trans Day of Remembrance, which was on Sunday. The report honors the 47 known transgender people killed since November 2021. The information in this report has been compiled from a variety of sources, including national and local news outlets; national, state, and local LGBTQ organizations; and social media posts. 

More than 25% of the transgender people lost to violence in the last year – before the shooting on Saturday – were located in Texas and Florida, two states that saw dozens of anti-transgender legislative and administrative actions.

“This is a heartbreaking demonstration of how anti-transgender legislation, fearmongering and disinformation puts lives at risk,” Heng-Lehtinen said.

 

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