The Nashville shooter, Audrey Hale, who was killed by responding officers, has been identified as transgender. This marks more than 350 children killed by gun violence and more than 130 mass shootings in 2023 through International Transgender Day of Visibility. More mass shootings than day so far this year. The shooting comes on the eve of Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, a day to celebrate the transgender community and raise awareness of the challenges they face.
The Nashville shooter, Audrey Hale, who was killed by responding officers, has been identified as transgender. Hale, 28, identified as a transgender male named Aiden, and the shooting happened right before the Transgender Day of Visibility. Aiden’s family and friends are shocked and saddened by the news. They say that Aiden was a kind and loving person who never showed any signs of violence. The shooting is a tragedy for the Nashville community and the transgender community. It is a reminder of the political motivations and the violence that transgender people face on a daily basis. Much of the focus on Aiden has been radical GOP conservatives and evangelicals that blame gun violence on trans healthcare and other related issues. Apparently not the crisis of guns.
Congressman Marjorie Taylor Green tweeted that it was Trans Health Care that is the problem, not guns. And the leadership of Trans civil rights organizations across America today warn of the significant potential of a dramatic increase in violence against transgender people.
On Transgender Day of Visibility, we remember the transgender people who have been killed and injured in violence. We mourn those lost in Nashville. We also celebrate the transgender people who are living their lives openly and proudly and face unprecedented levels of hate and violence. To discuss these issues we have South Florida Gay News community editor, John Hayden. We also welcome Matteo Ventura Bruer, the Executive Director of the non profit advocacy organization Aqua Foundation.
