Articles:
“Honoring Jo Acker, Trans Woman Who Confronted Shooter” https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-jo-acker-26-year-old-trans-woman-killed-in-boise-idaho
“Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ Bias and Guns Are Taking Lives of Countless LGBTQ People” https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/Pulse-GunViolenceReport-061120.pdf?_ga=2.145034228.1788513919.1636415581-200739166.1626980298
“Gun Violence Must Stop. Here’s What We Can Do to Prevent More Deaths” https://www.preventioninstitute.org/focus-areas/preventing-violence-and-reducing-injury/preventing-violence-advocacy
With an influx of news being covered in the media today, it can be seen that our country is being faced with a lot of hot topics right now. Some hot topics might be abortion rights, sexual assault cases in higher government, missing women, and so much more. But, a topic that seems to come back into our new sources a lot is the right to gun control and effective gun restriction laws. I say that this topic comes back a lot in our media because there are frequent stories on lives lost due to gun violence in public or private areas, such as malls, restaurants, schools, and etc. As there are new shootings added on almost everyday, it has been seen that the gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 25 times higher compared to other high-income countries. Not only does this create a serious problem in regards to loss of life concerning gun violence, I think it is important to highlight that these shootings can impact specific communities, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community.
Just on October 26th, 2021, Jo Acker, a white 26 year old trans woman was included in the already growing number of transgender or gender non-conforming person lost to violent killings, making her the possible 42nd killing in this year alone compared to last year that had at least 44 trans victims, which is the highest the Human Rights Campaign has seen ever since first counting back in 2013 (“possible” was used because there is a substantial number of trans killings that go unreported). Acker was one of the victims lost in a shooting that killed 2 people and injured 4 others at Boise Towne Square mall in Boise, Idaho. Acker died while running toward the suspect to stop his wrongdoing and protect bystanders, but was shot in the process.
Although this is just one victim lost due to gun violence, Acker adds on to a growing number of transgender people losing their lives due to gun violence and homicide. In fact, according to the Transgender Homicide Tracker in 2017-2019, out of the 80 homicides that were committed against transgender or gender non-conforming people, three-fourths of this number held confirmed cases of homicides that involved a gun. By the look of these statistics, transgender people are facing heightened rates of gun violence and homicide, which is adding on the number of victims that are killed who are transgender. As matters could not get any worse, the rate of gun violence in the trans community is disproportionally represented in minority communities as well, with Black trans people facing such realities the hardest.
Gun violence in Black trans communities is felt in some of the hardest ways because of how much of the population makes up trans homicide. In the U.S., according to the Transgender Homicide Tracker, although it is estimated that only 16% of the trans population is Black, Black trans people make up about 79% of trans homicide victims. Seeing how considerably large this percentage is for such a community that is only supposed to represent 16% of the trans population, Black trans people are being killed more at higher rates through gun violence. As race plays a huge factor into this, gender has a role in this statistic as well because as 66% of all Black women faced being killed through gun violence, 81% of victims were Black trans women who were killed by guns.
As it can be seen, not only is the LGBTQ community impacted heavily by gun violence, but that being Black and trans can put you at a disadvantaged position, especially if you are a Black trans woman. Although there are complex reasons as to why this specific population is facing disproportionate gun violence, Alphonso David, who was the former president of the Human Rights Campaign, mentioned that since Black trans women are part of minority communities such as being Black, LGBTQ+, and a woman, these intersections of identities come together to make these women face more levels of discrimination, hate crimes, and violence. Since life can be made difficult by only being one of these identities, such as only being Black or a woman, having a part in all 3 minority identities adds on to the potential levels of intolerance faced by people in all sectors of society.
Considering this disturbing information, I think this issue needs to be addressed formally and with great care because to me at least, this looks like a silent epidemic. I say this because there not has been enough media coverage that pertains to the growing rate of trans gun violence in local or major news. Because of this data being underreported, it not only keeps more people in the dark on the issue, but it also lets the issue grow more into a bigger problem that will continue to hurt people, especially in the LGBTQ community. Luckily, there have been initiatives to try to address the issue of gun violence. For example, there is an initiative called the Disarm Hate Act that aims to close the loophole of federal law that will prohibit people convicted of violent hate crimes from being able to access guns. Since there is no indication of a person convicted of a violent hate crime being prohibited from possessing a gun, people can pass background checks to purchase a gun, even with this conviction in their name. Other recommendations have been made to Congress concerning limiting the access to assault weapons or high capacity magazines, requiring mandatory reporting of all hate crimes to law enforcement agencies, officially recognizing gun violence as a preventable public health problem, and so much more.
I feel like with these initiatives it can not only make our communities safer, but also promote a healthier environment for people in the trans community to thrive and live their lives without fear of being shot in the cross hairs of violence and do not have to fear of being shot for simply being who they are.