Violence Increasing, But We Knew That

And it is not limited to us but all minorities, but for us those that don’t fit the gender norms feel it directly when we walk out the door.

Deadly Violence Against Transgender People Is on the Rise. The Government Isn’t Helping.
By Chase Strangio, Staff Attorney, ACLU LGBT & HIV Project
AUGUST 21, 2018

In recent years, the number of transgender and nonbinary people murdered has hit record highs. This year, the alarming trend is expected to continue.

According to one survey, one in four transgender people have been assaulted because they are trans. The majority of deadly attacks against transgender people are against women of color. In Jacksonville, Florida, four Black transgender women have been shot in the last six months alone. Three of them were killed.

The pattern has alarmed activists locally and nationally. Civil rights groups have asked the Department of Justice to investigate the Jacksonville attacks and provide training on responding to this kind of violence for local law enforcement.

A recent investigative report by ProPublica on the murders in Jacksonville found that the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) consistently misidentified the victims by referring to them as men and by the names given to them at birth. Invalidating the identity of a trans person by invoking an abandoned birth-designated name is known as “deadnaming.” This practice negates the truth of transgender victims’ lives and prevents accurate investigations into their deaths.
[…]
If we are to stop the staggering rise of violence against trans women of color in Jacksonville and across the country, we must take meaningful steps to recognize the basic humanity of trans people in life and in death.

And if you are a public figure it can be dangerous.

Vermont's transgender candidate getting death threats
My Palm Beach Post
August 21, 2018

MONTPELIER, Vt. —
Vermont's transgender gubernatorial candidate said Tuesday she's been getting a steady stream of death threats and other personal attacks since her candidacy began to draw attention from across the country and the world.

Christine Hallquist, who won Vermont's Democratic gubernatorial primary last week, said most of the threats, which began before she won the nomination, have been coming from outside of Vermont, although during her primary campaign it was not unusual for people to yell insults at her during parades and other public appearances.

"Early on when our team assembled I said 'the more successful we are, the more vitriol and threats we are going to receive,'" Hallquist said Tuesday. "It's kind of a natural outcome of our divided country."

And your age doesn’t matter as we have seen in Oklahoma where a 12 year old trans student received death threats and school had to close.

We have Republican candidates who are using us as punching bags to get votes; out in California a Republican candidate is attacking a trans child and his mother.

Republican candidate publicly insults 7-year-old trans boy & accuses his mom of ‘mutilation’
LGBTQ Nation
By Alex Bollinger
August 20, 2018

A mother of a transgender boy is speaking out after her son’s story was used to foment transphobia.

Two years ago, Vanessa Nichols’s son appeared in an episode of My Trans Life, a show that airs on Barcroft TV’s YouTube channel. In the video, Vanessa and her son talk about growing up transgender.

“I think I’m gonna take some medicine so that I can kinda like transform into a boy, get surgery,” the then 7-year-old said in the video. He’s now living as a boy.
[…]
The Republican’s campaign website shows the usual far-right campaign issues – he calls for a ban on abortion and vaguely mentions “the federal government’s unconstitutional overreach” – but he also shows a special concern for more bizarre positions, like “unconstitutional” vaccines and the black market for “baby body parts.”

But there are rays of hope. The attacks on the 12 year old Oklahoma student created strong support for the child in area and there was a protest against the threats. In Vermont her opponent the governor spoke out against the threats,

Scott said Tuesday he was saddened to hear Hallquist had been threatened and he would not tolerate hate speech or violence against anyone.

"We must — as a society — do better to combat anger and violence," Scott said. "I'm hopeful Vermonters will join me in ensuring everyone — regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or other characteristics - are treated with dignity, respect and acceptance."

Another hope comes from the judicial systems…

Judge rules that ‘gender’ in hate crimes law includes trans people
LGBTQ Nation
By Alex Bollinger
August 16, 2018

A judge in Michigan ruled that a man could be prosecuted for “ethnic intimidation” because he attacked a transgender woman.

The case concerns an attack caught on video this past July in Detroit. Deonton Rogers was harassing Kimora Steuball at a gas station convenience store.
[…]
Prosecutors asked the court to apply hate crimes charges.

“This was a hate crime – this man attacked another individual because she was transgender,” said assistant prosecutor Jaimie Powell-Horowitz.

Michigan’s hate crimes law does not include sexual orientation and gender identity, but it does include“race, color, religion, gender, or national origin.”

However, the judge ruled “that a charge of ethnic intimidation based on gender could be applied in this case because Steuball was targeted for being transgender.”

I imagine that the defendant will appeal the judge’s ruling and hopefully his ruling will stand.