Transgender Day of Remembrance, 2020

(MADISON)—Today, Senator Tim Carpenter issued the following statement regarding Transgender Day of Remembrance, 2020:

“Today we remember the lives of Transgender people that were taken from the world because their expression of themselves did not conform to someone else’s view.

“Transgender Americans face discrimination and violence at excessive rates, and 2020 has been the deadliest year in recent memory with at least 38 lives taken, the majority of them people of color.

“The American values of individuality and self-determination are under attack when a transgender person is murdered in a crime of hate.

“For the last several years, the American Medical Association has recognized the danger that gender-nonconforming individuals face in our society as an epidemic.

“This session, my LGBTQ colleagues and I offered resolutions and bills to raise awareness of this terrible reality by recognizing these lives lost and address the systems in our state that fail to meet the needs of gender-nonconforming Wisconsinites. Sadly we are still waiting for these proposals to be taken seriously by a majority of state legislators.

“I eagerly look forward to the day when Transgender Day of Remembrance is a day when we can look back on the tragedies of times past, sadly it did not come this year.”

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