Tai’Vion Lathan, a 24-year-old Black transgender woman who also went by Tai, was tragically found dead in a neighborhood in East Baltimore, Maryland on Sunday, August 4th. Tai’s death is at least the 24th violent killing of a transgender or gender expansive person in 2024. We say “at least” because too often these deaths go unreported — or misreported. The Human Rights Campaign is deeply saddened to report on Tai’s passing.
According to reporting from Baltimore’s CBS News affiliate, Tai was found dead from a gunshot wound on Sunday, August 4th, in a neighborhood in East Baltimore. No suspect information has been provided by police.
Tai’s aunt, when speaking with reporters, said “She was just who she was, a very outgoing person, a sweetheart.” Page Boyd, reported to be Tai’s best friend, said “There’s so many hearts breaking open out here. How can you wake up every day knowing what you did? It’s terrible. Tai didn’t deserve to be in no alley.” A vigil is scheduled for Friday, August 9th, 2024 in Baltimore, and Maryland Safe Haven – a trans-led nonprofit initially known as Baltimore Safe Haven – has started a GoFundMe to cover funeral expenses.
As transgender Americans, we shouldn’t be afraid to be who we are. The impact of anti trans violence negatively impacts our mental health and our ability to live healthy and happy lives. We all must end the harmful rhetoric and policies that make it less safe for us to live and thrive. Violence is not just within fists and guns, it’s also with laws and words.
Tai is at least the 10th Black trans woman killed this year, and the 14th trans or gender-expansive person killed in 2024 with a gun. In Maryland specifically, at least 18 trans and gender-expansive people have been killed since 2013, tying with Illinois for the 8th highest number of trans fatalities. 10 of the deaths that occurred in Maryland were specifically in Baltimore; of those victims, eight were Black trans women, all but two of whom were killed with a gun. And, tragically, this reflects trends we have seen nationwide. More than 25,000 hate crimes in the U.S. involve a firearm each year, which equates to almost 70 cases a day, according to a 2023 report from Everytown for Gun Safety in partnership with HRC and The Equality Federation Support Fund, “Remembering and Honoring Pulse: Anti-LGBTQ Bias and Guns Are Taking Lives of Countless LGBTQ People.” The report also notes a marked increase in anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes, especially against transgender people. In 2022, the most recent year for which data is available, the FBI recorded a record-high number of hate crimes related to gender identity, including a 33% jump in hate crimes on the basis of gender identity from the year before.
At the state level, transgender and gender-expansive people in Maryland are explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, education and public spaces. Maryland does include sexual orientation and gender identity as a protected characteristic in its hate crimes law. Though we have recently seen some political gains that support and affirm transgender people, we have also faced unprecedented anti-LGBTQ+ attacks in the states. In June 2023, the Human Rights Campaign declared a National State of Emergency for LGBTQ+ Americans, as a result of the more than 550 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced into state houses that year, over 80 of which were signed into law—more than in any other year. As of this writing, over 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced into state houses since the beginning of 2024, with more than 30 bills passing to-date.
We must demand better from our elected officials and reject harmful anti-transgender legislation at the local, state and federal levels, while also considering every possible way to make ending this violence a reality. It is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, especially Black transgender women. The intersections of racism, transphobia, sexism, biphobia and homophobia conspire to deprive them of necessities to live and thrive, so we must all work together to cultivate acceptance, reject hate and end stigma for everyone in the trans and gender-expansive community.
More resources:
- Learn more about the fatal violence cases that HRC is tracking where details are unclear. You may find a list of these cases here.
- Join HRC’s CountMeIn campaign to take action for transgender and non-binary people.
- Read these guidelines and this FAQ for journalists to ensure greater accuracy and respect in reporting.
- Learn about how transgender and non-binary people are combating transphobia, stigma and anti-trans violence through our Celebrating Changemakers series.
