Gun violence becomes growing concern for transgender community

(NEW YORK) -- Righteous Torrance "Chevy" Hill had great plans for his future, cut short by a fatal shooting in front of his own home in February.

Hill, a transgender man, left behind a budding legacy of activism as the founder of an LGBTQ-focused salon and barber shop called Evollusion. The salon was born out of his desire for a space where he and other clients weren't faced with uncomfortable or disparaging comments.

"There's a need for this," said Terri Wilson, Hill's partner of six years. Their relationship began at the salon when Wilson herself came to get her hair done.

The two stayed talking for hours, a common occurrence at Evollusion. Clients often made themselves comfortable in the salon well after the end of their appointments to discuss politics, society and life in the shop -- the salon was abuzz with laughter or chatter.

"He wanted to make sure that the trans community had the resources that they need," Wilson told ABC News.

Wilson told ABC News that Hill believed Atlanta, often touted for having a large and inclusive LGBTQ+ community, was the perfect place to create such a space. Wilson has vowed to continue his work following his passing.

"Grief just hits out of nowhere, like the day can be going wonderful, and then I can just think of something or read something or see something online that I want to share with him, and I know that I'm not able to share it with him," Wilson said.

Hill is one of at least 36 transgender and gender non-conforming victims of fatal violence from last year's Transgender Remembrance Day to this year's, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the vast majority of whom were killed by a gun. Some anti-gun violence advocates told ABC News that growing anti-transgender sentiment in the U.S. is a major cause for concern for the trans community.

"No matter what gender they are, what socioeconomic class they're from, what race or ethnicity they are -- those lives mattered and a lot of the policies that we have in place and even the way that we investigate these homicides send a message about the disposability of these lives," Sarah Burd-Sharps, Senior Director of Research of gun safety advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, told ABC News.

New research from Everytown published in honor of Transgender Remembrance Day on Wednesday aims to highlight the impact gun violence has had on the trans community. Everytown found that roughly 7 in 10 transgender victims are killed with a gun, which is similar to the national rate. Black transgender residents -- particularly Black transgender women -- face the brunt of this gun violence, according to Everytown.

More than half of all transgender gun homicides took place in the South, according to Everytown. Burd-Sharps also notes these deaths happen predominantly in Southern states with more lenient gun laws.

Hill was shot outside his home in the Atlanta suburb of East Point, Georgia on Feb. 28, 2024, and pronounced dead the following day. In Georgia, about 95% of the trans or gender-expansive victims since 2013 -- when the Human Rights Campaign began tracking these deaths -- were killed with a gun.

Some researchers argue that violence toward trans people cannot be considered without the context of anti-transgender legislation and rhetoric.

"What it does is it sows further division. It creates an environment where even more hatred exists, which in turn creates more violence against trans folks," Tori Cooper, the Human Rights Campaign's director of community engagement, told ABC News.

Federal, state and local agencies across the country have warned about increases in anti-LGBTQ+ violence in recent years as state legislatures break records, introducing more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills nationwide.

"Words matter, policies matter," Moms Demand Action Executive Director Angela Ferrell-Zabala told ABC News in an interview on the Everytown report. "When we go down this road of dehumanizing and taking away rights from folks ... it's hard for folks to access health care and other things and just kind of live full lives, then that's contributing to the problem of violence in this country."

Both the HRC and Everytown note in their research that there may be other cases of fatal violence against transgender or gender-expansive people that have gone unreported or misreported and, therefore, not recorded in the official count.

Researchers and advocates say deadnaming, misgendering and bias in policing or reporting may hinder efforts to track and solve these cases properly.

"Every life is important, and we need to make sure that we're protecting everybody," Ferrell-Zabala said. "Media and law enforcement have a duty to make sure they're correctly reporting people's names and genders. It's not only out of respect for victims and their loved ones and communities, but also so that the research on the ongoing violence against transgender people is accurately understood and represented."

According to Wilson, Hill was misgendered by law enforcement after his death, despite having the correct gender markers on his ID.

"It's frustrating because a person who respectfully asks you to address them in a certain way, their request should be accepted. Their request should be recognized. It's not hurting anyone else," Wilson said. "It's frustrating for me, so I can only understand how frustrating it was for him. It's just from going from medical professionals, going through TSA, law enforcement."

However, she said East Point's LGBTQ liaison reached out to her following his death: "They have an LGBT Task Force, and they did have one of the representatives who was over this task force reach out to me, which I did appreciate," Wilson said.

East Point didn't respond to ABC News' request for comment.

Everytown researchers also found that clearances of trans homicides -- "incidents where a perpetrator is arrested, charged, and given to the court for prosecution, or is otherwise identified" -- are lower than among homicides overall nationally. Hill's loved ones waited more than six months for the suspect -- Hill's cousin Jaylen Hill -- turned himself police, and hope the arrest can finally bring some relief in the fight for justice.

Jaylen Hill is in pre-indictment hearings on potential charges of murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm. Jaylen Hill's legal team has not yet responded to ABC News' request for comment.

"I can't be consumed with Jaylen and what his punishment is, because all of this revolves around [Hill]. [Hill] lost his life," Wilson said. "So continuing what he was doing is definitely at the forefront of receiving justice for [Hill]."

Some researchers hope the new data can help law enforcement agencies and city officials nationwide to address growing concerns about anti-LGBTQ+ violence and the role gun violence plays in these deaths.

Officials in neighboring Atlanta -- which has LGBTQ+ liaisons on the city and public safety levels -- said it's working to implement programs to improve the safety and concerns of the LGBTQ+ community in the region. Chief Equity Officer Candace M. Stanciel pointed to the city's Human Relations Commission which investigates reports of discrimination or the revision of standard operating procedures for local public safety officials on how to engage with the transgender community.

"We look forward to even growing the partnership and the work that we continue to do with all of our public safety teams around supporting LGBTQ communities as a whole," Stanciel told ABC News.

Wilson hopes Hill can be remembered for his "unconditional love."

"He didn't have any enemies," said Wilson. "He had a forgiving heart. He was selfless, he was genuine. He always wanted everyone to succeed. He could see in you what you couldn't see in yourself."

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