How Anti-Trans Rhetoric Drives Violence

The recent mass shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs, in which two of the five people killed were transgender, drives home the dangers faced not only by the LGBTQ+ community in general but especially by trans people.

The two who perished in the Club Q attack are among at least 35 trans Americans who have died by violence this year. The names of 34 are known; a trans person was recently killed in what local media call an "altercation" in Vallejo, Calif., but the victim's name has not been released.

This year's total is below last year's record of 57 reported violent deaths of trans Americans, but it should be noted that any year's figure is likely an undercount. Trans victims are often misgendered and deadnamed by police and media or their deaths not reported at all.

Anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-trans rhetoric by right-wing politicians undoubtedly contributes to the likelihood of violence. "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," Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement on the Colorado Springs attack. "The rhetoric and the legislative attempts to erase transgender people sends a signal that violence toward us is tolerated. 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."

"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 continued.

The trans victims at Club Q were Daniel Aston, a 28-year-old trans man who worked at the nightclub, and Kelly Loving, a trans woman who was a customer.

Aston, a bar supervisor, came out as trans in his teens. "He had so much more life to give to us, and to all his friends and to himself," his mother, Sabrina Aston, told The Denver Post. "He always said 'I'm shy,' but he wasn't. He wrote poetry. He loved to dress up. He got into drama in high school. He's an entertainer. That's what he really loves."

Loving was visiting from Denver, where she had moved recently. "She was a tough woman," friend Natalee Skye Bingham told The New York Times. "She taught me how it was to be a trans woman and live your life day to day."

Nicole Garcia, faith work director at the National LGBTQ Task Force, visited Colorado Springs a few days after the tragedy and spent several hours talking to people at the memorial around Club Q. "It's going to take a long time for Colorado Springs to heal," Garcia, a queer trans Latina, told The Advocate. "It's going to take a long time for the LGBTQ+ community to heal."

Anti-trans rhetoric, she noted, is far worse in some areas than others. She lives near Boulder, Colo., a liberal and accepting enclave where she says she's in a bit of a bubble. But in others, lies and misinformation about trans people run rampant, she pointed out. These include the idea that gender transition procedures are undertaken on a whim and that trans women are dominating women's sports.

Garcia is a therapist and a minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in addition to her position with the Task Force. "As a therapist, I walk with so many trans people through their journey," she said. "It's never taken lightly."

Yet states including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, and Oklahoma have placed legal restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors (the Alabama and Arkansas laws are on hold due to court cases), and Florida has banned the use of Medicaid funds for this care for people of any age. Texas's governor infamously ordered that parents who allow their children to undergo gender-affirming procedures be investigated for child abuse; most of the investigations are also on hold due to court action. Around the nation, providers of this health care are facing threats of violence, and Democrats in Congress have called on the Department of Justice to address the matter.

Activists and health care professionals are speaking out too. "Anti-trans extremists are spreading misinformation and are manipulating society's understanding of what gender-affirming care is and who transgender youth are," Dr. Kellan E. Baker, executive director and chief learning officer of the Whitman-Walker Institute, said in a recent statement. "Recent attacks on health care providers and patients are dangerous attempts to politicize personal medical care that should be based on science, not extremist ideology. It's time for politicians everywhere to trust and support families and follow the guidance of leading medical associations. When it comes to medical care, let's listen to the professionals who know the science, follow the standards, and are committed to the well-being of their patients."

Now more than ever, Garcia noted, the LGBTQ+ community and particularly the trans community need allies. "I understand it's hard to become involved, but really, our lives are on the line," she said.

In his statement, Baker added, "We call on our leaders to publicly denounce the harmful transphobic and homophobic speech that contributes to these acts and to speak in defense of trans and queer lives."