Gun Violence Against LGBTQ Community Gets Worse

Every day, close to 30 hate crimes involve a firearm, a study done by LGBTQ advocates demanding gun safety reform shows.

On the fourth anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, the Human Rights Campaign, Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, Giffords Law Center, and Equality Florida, released a startling report that shows violence against the LGTBQ community persists and is increasing. 

Just this week, two Black trans women were found dead. The body of Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells was found with severe trauma at the banks of the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, and Riah Milton of Cincinnati was fatally shot. She was just 25-years-old. Their deaths speak to the alarming statistic that violence against Black trans women is at a record high.

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The report, titled “Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ Bias and Guns are Taking Lives of Countless LGBTQ People,” indicates that 79% of known trans homicide victims were Black. Furthermore, data shows that while 66% of all homicides of Black women were committed with a gun, and 81% of murders of Black trans women were committed with a firearm. Overall, more than 10,000 hate crimes involve firearms (more than 28 every day), and there’s also been a 43% increase in the formation of anti-LGBTQ hate groups in 2019.

“Nearly three-fourths of all transgender and gender non-conforming people killed in America since 2013 were killed with guns,” the Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David told The Americano. “From the tragedy at Pulse four years ago to the dozens of transgender and gender non-conforming people killed with firearms over the last decade, to the recent uptick in killings of LGBTQ people in Puerto Rico, our community is under attack. This report outlines the problem at hand and provides strong recommendations for helping build a better, safer future for our community – one that is free from gun violence.”

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Last year, Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. David Cicilline introduced the Disarm Hate Act, which would prohibit the firearm sale to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor hate crime. According to the report, passing the Disarm Hate Act would bring considerable change to violence against the LGBTQ community.

The report also shows that more funding is needed to research gun violence and its intersection with violence against the LGBTQ community. The LGBTQ advocates demand supporting common-sense gun laws that keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them, including convicted domestic abusers. 

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