This yr’s Transgender Day of Remembrance was particularly private for Will Love. The Danbury native got here out as non-binary three years in the past and mentioned the help they obtained from native trans advocacy teams helped them come to phrases with their identification and overcome suicidal ideas.
“I simply needed to determine I need to stay and need to be my genuine self – that person who, for thus lengthy, society has mentioned is just not acceptable and isn’t okay,” they mentioned.
They later based the Danbury Area Justice Network and on Sunday, together with Bethel CT Pride organizers, they helped lead a Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil in entrance of The Danbury Library to assist LGBTQ+ neighborhood members the identical means others did for them.
Transgender Day of Remembrance started in 1999 to honor the reminiscence of Rita Hester, a Black transgender girl who was killed in 1998. The annual observance commemorates all transgender, gender noncomforming and non-binary folks misplaced to anti-transgender violence.
On the vigil, Love held a second of silence for 5 folks killed and the 18 injured at Club Q, a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, on Saturday evening. Love mentioned the tragedy represents how the transgender neighborhood within the U.S. nonetheless faces a excessive threat of violence and why Transgender Day of Remembrance occasions are nonetheless crucial.
“That’s why I do issues like this. As a result of we will not even have our secure areas anymore,” they mentioned.
No less than 32 transgender and gender-nonconforming folks have been killed within the U.S. in 2022, in line with a report by the Human Rights Campaign. Transgender folks of shade make up 81% of the recognized victims and trans girls additionally made up 81% of the recorded deaths, in line with the report. The Human Rights Marketing campaign famous that the variety of deaths is probably going increased as many deaths go unreported or many victims are misgendered in studies.
Love mentioned due to the violence in opposition to the LGBTQ+ neighborhood, they really feel the necessity to always monitor their environment and get anxious about their security in public areas.
“This is not a way of life selection. I did not select to stay a life the place I’ve to fret about somebody wanting to harm me,” they mentioned. Rising up in Danbury, Love mentioned they did not have comparable pursuits to lots of the male college students in school they usually had been focused by their friends for being too “female.’
“There’s all the time room to make locations extra secure, make them extra protected and make them a secure haven,” they mentioned.
Along with violence, LGBTQ+ People had been focused in over 300 bills launched by state legislatures in 2022. None of them had been launched in Connecticut, however Emily Denaro, co-leader of Bethel Pleasure CT, mentioned points dealing with the LGBTQ+ neighborhood in Connecticut are current.
4 out of 10 LGBTQ+ youth in Connecticut are coping with housing insecurity, in line with the 2021 Connecticut LGBTQ+ Community Survey: Needs Assessment Report. The Alliance Defending Freedom has been fighting to overturn a state policy permitting transgender athletes to compete in highschool sports activities. The newest gubernatorial race noticed an look from a super PAC openly opposued to transgender rights. A “parental bill of rights” launched by former candidate Bob Stefanowski supported limiting discussions about sexual orientation and gender identification in colleges, although it provided no concrete coverage modifications.
“You all the time need to be vigilant as a result of on the drop of the hat, you may have a unique legislative physique and it’s a must to watch out that you’ve got issues put in place at a nonprofit stage,” she mentioned.
