Anti-Trans Legislation Could Exacerbate Gun Violence Against Trans People | Opinion
10,300 hate crimes in the U.S. involve a firearm. During the period between 2017 and 2021, guns were the most frequently used weapon in the murder of trans people—the majority of which were of Black trans women.
Anti-trans legislation and weak gun laws not only enable hate-fueled violence, they can also create mental health crises that put LGBTQ+ people at increased risk of suicide at a time where some state agencies are working to make suicide prevention resources less accessible to LGBTQ+ youth.We live in a country where extremists have near-unfettered access to deadly weapons—a country where hate-fueled gun violence is enabled by our politicians.
And because of this, we live in a country where members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and gender nonconforming people, have to live in fear every single day.This session, a tidal wave of more than 200 discriminatory bills have been introduced, and some recently passed, in statehouses nationwide—including in Iowa, South Dakota, Florida and several other states.
These bills target all LGBTQ+ people, but take particular aim at transgender youth and their families through bans on trans youth participating in sports and bills that seek to deny transgender people best-practice medical care.
