With 2021 already the deadliest year on record for transgender people in the United States, celebrities and politicians are paying tribute.
via: New York Post
“This year, at least 46 transgender individuals in this country — and hundreds more around the world — were killed in horrifying acts of violence. Each of these lives was precious. Each of them deserved freedom, justice, and joy,” Biden said.
“Today, on Transgender Day of Remembrance, we mourn those we lost in the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans, as well as the countless other transgender people —disproportionately black and brown transgender women and girls — who face brutal violence, discrimination, and harassment,” Biden added.
The president also urged lawmakers to pass the long-stalled Equality Act that would amend the 1964 Civil Rights act to formally prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.
To mark the day, Biden said Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff had hosted a “vigil” in the White House Diplomatic Room and his administration released a report “highlighting over 45 key, early actions the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to address the root causes of anti-transgender violence, discrimination, and denial of economic opportunity.”
The first Transgender Day of Remembrance was organized in 1999 by trans advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith, honoring the memory of Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was killed the year before.
