GLAD stands in solidarity with the friends and family of Muhlaysia Booker, with her community in Texas, and with our entire transgender community, who are reeling from the news of yet another life taken by violence. Ms. Booker is the fourth identified Black transgender woman to be murdered in the U.S. already in 2019.

We have made progress toward transgender equality in recent years in many arenas, but attacks on the rights of transgender people are also escalating. And transgender people, and particularly transgender women of color, continue to be vulnerable to an epidemic of anti-transgender violence in this country.

We join together with all those who say we will not tolerate this continued devaluing of human life. We must work on every level, from the legal, to the political to the personal, to ensure these attacks are taken seriously by those tasked to address and prevent them, and to create a climate where respect, dignity, and safety are truly accessible to all, including and especially those most vulnerable in our communities.