Any crime of violence against any innocent person is detestable. Violent crime deprives a citizen of their fundamental rights to liberty and property and should be responded to by the justice system vigorously. But it should also be applied even-handedly, and the data gathered by the various branches of our justice system must be analyzed scrupulously. That data may be used to focus resources on problem areas or to deal with demographics that are, for whatever reason, at increased risk.
Violence against transgender people is a common talking point among the legacy media and leftists (but I repeat myself.) The problem is this: There's no evidence that transgender people are at any higher risk of being victims of violent crime simply due to their status as transgender. No, they are just at risk for the same reasons everyone else is. "The Federalist" contributor Chad Felix Greene has the numbers.
On Nov. 20, 2024, President Joe Biden put out a statement saying, “Today, on Transgender Day of Remembrance, we mourn the transgender Americans whose lives were taken this year in horrific acts of violence. There should be no place for hate in America — and yet too many transgender Americans, including young people, are cruelly targeted and face harassment simply for being themselves.”
This message was repeated by dozens of Democrats the same day. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., mourned, “Too many transgender people have been killed just for living as their true, authentic selves.” Jayapal, the co-chair of the Congressional Equality Caucus’ Transgender Equality Task Force, noted a supposed alarming rise in anti-trans violence due to intensifying rhetoric and legislation targeting the trans community. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, asserted, “No one should have to live their lives in fear simply for existing as they are.”
The problem is, that none of those statements have any basis in reality. Yes, transgender people, like the population at large, are sometimes the victims of violent crime. But the reasons for those crimes generally have nothing to do with their "transgender" status.
Don't get me wrong. Transgender or not, all of these incidents are tragedies, all are detestable crimes, and in all cases, the aggressor must be tried, and if convicted, punished. That's not the point. The point is whether the implication is that transgender people are at a higher risk of being targeted because they are transgender. So far in 2024, none of the cases reported indicated the victim's transgender status was a factor.
Yet, when evaluating the data, despite the broader reported statistics listed by the HRC, the claims about anti-trans violence are not true.
Looking at each of 29 such reported cases in 2024, the three most common categories are domestic violence (6), altercations (6), and accidents (4). Of all cases, four did not have sufficient information reported by authorities to make a determination on what kind of violence occurred. The deaths also included a suicide, the highly publicized death of Dagny (Nex) Benedict, a victim of a mass shooting, and a random act of violence.
Kita Bee and Honee Daniels were both killed in what HRC calls “hit-and-run” accidents — they involved negligent behavior and both drivers have been arrested. Jazlynn Johnson, 18, was allegedly accidentally shot and killed by his friend, 17-year-old Cesar Sandoval, while showing off a new gun, according to reports.
The data does not bear out the assertion. These crimes are detestable - but they happen to non-transgender people, too.
Granted, this is an issue that makes many on the left seem even more irrational than usual, for whatever reason.
See Related:
Nancy Mace Assaulted on Capitol Hill by Transgender Activist
MSNBC's Joy Reid Compares Opposition to 'Gender-Affirming Care' for 'Trans' Kids to Nazism
There is a statistical problem, of course, in that the size of the transgender community is very small - most likely less than one percent of the population. When a denominator is that small, a small change in the numerator can dramatically alter the ratio, making it look as though there is a sudden spike (or sudden drop-off) of any such incidents. But that's not an accurate assessment of the data.
And, let's be honest, in the event of a violent crime, the sexual, racial, religious, or any other status of the victim shouldn't really enter into the discussion. That's not what "equal treatment under the law" is all about.
Mr. Greene concludes:
No, a death is not more tragic because the person who died identified as transgender in some way. The media have a responsibility to report on these incidents honestly. Yet, without fail, article after article connects one trans-identifying person’s death with others’, with a quote from an LGBTQ advocacy group demanding justice, creating the illusion of a larger problem. It’s intentional and it must continue to be called out.
With more than a decade of evidence, data, and research, it is very clear there is no “epidemic of violence” against transgender people and LGBT activists know it. They simply choose to keep lying about it for political gain.
Lying about things for political gain, though, is what the left does. This is just another example.
