In 2020 so far, there have been 29 killings of transgender and gender-non-conforming people by gun in the U.S, according to recently released data by Everytown for Gun Safety, an advocacy group.
This year is on track to being one of the deadliest in recent years for transgender and the gender non-conforming community, according to a report. In 2020 so far, there have been 29 killings of transgender and gender-non-conforming people in the U.S., according to recently released data by Everytown for Gun Safety, an advocacy group.
There were 25 killings in all of 2019, 26 killings in 2018, and 29 in 2017, according to the group that has been tracking this data for the last four years. Over that time, three-fourths of the victims have been killed with guns, said Sarah Burd-Sharps, the group's research director.
A large portion of these slayings has been linked to Southern states, particularly in Texas, Florida and Louisiana.
Last year, a 23-year-old transgender Dallas woman named Muhlaysia Booker was viciously beaten in a video that went viral, and then wound up fatally shot shortly after, Inside Edition Digital previously reported.
The non-profit group found that 76% of victims since 2017 were Black transgender women. Around 16% of the transgender population are Black people.
"It's clear that ending gun violence must include ending anti-trans violence," Burd-Sharps said Thursday, according to CBS News. "Guns don't cause homophobia or transphobia, but they make that hate more deadly."
Last year, hate crime murders spiked. Specifically those motivated by gender-identity bias rose another 18% in 2019. The previous year, there was a 41% increase, according to the FBI.
These numbers, however, do not paint the full picture. Advocates say that the FBI's data is likely under-reported because most of it is voluntary data participation from local law enforcement agencies, CBS reported.
Advocates also add that some law enforcement agencies misgender or misidentify victims of hate crimes, for example, by referring to them with their names at birth.
Numbers for this year have not been released yet by the agency.
The annual global list of killings, which is released annually on Nov. 20 by the Transgender Day of Remembrance, reports that there have been 350 reported transgender people murdered in 2020 –– a rise in numbers compared to 331 last year.
The average age of a victim this year was 31 –– but the youngest was only 15.
The majority of murders take place in Central and South America, with a total of 287 murders, Forbes reported. Countries, where violence is highest, include Brazil where 152 people were reportedly killed, and then Mexico with 57 people.
While the organization has counted 28 murders in the United States, The Human Rights Campaign, a separate organization, has marked 37 total killings this year.
The country, however, has recently celebrated a major political milestone when Sarah McBride was voted into the Delaware State Senate, becoming the country's first transgender Senator.
Brazilian model Valentina Sampaio was also the first transgender person to be featured in the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue this year, Inside Edition Digital previously reported.
RELATED STORIES
