Stop Killing Us.

In 2024, approximately 350 trans and gender non-conforming people were murdered in hate attacks around the world. Nine out of ten of these attacks were on trans people of colour: specifically Black trans women. And each year, the figures increase. As of February 20, 2025, eight new anti-trans bills have been passed in seven states. It's aggravating, isn't it? In 2024, there were nearly five hundred mass shootings in the United States. People are dying because they cannot afford medications that will save their lives. Climate change is heating up the Arctic twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth. Yet, all anyone cares about is taking away the rights of trans people.

I'm tired. I'm tired of waking up to news of another trans person being killed. I'm tired of listening to our very existence be debated by people who feel threatened by the equality of others. I'm tired of being forced to fight for my right to exist. Though it's more than just being tired. I think I passed the stage of tired a very long time ago. The transgender genocide has been happening for so long that I've become desensitized to any news of it. I live with no more anger, or fear, or sadness: simply a constant apathy that linger over me. I suppose sometimes the only way to cope is to detach yourself altogether.

With the election of Donald Trump came a skyrocketing increase in transphobic hate. Hundreds of transgender people are targeted and killed globally every year, and life just goes on. It shouldn't be this way. I want to read positive news about trans people, just once. As it is, the only time the name of a trans person appears in the news is when they're dead.

Sam Nordquist was a twenty four year old biracial trans man from Minnesota. He had a mother and two siblings, and worked at a group home centre for adults with disabilities. At the end of September 2024, he travelled to New York, intending on spending two weeks with his long-distance girlfriend. He never returned. On February 9, 2025, Sam was reported missing by his mother. Four days later, his body was found in a field by Rochester police.

According to police reports, Sam had been physically and sexually abused for several months leading up to his death - and although investigations are supposedly underway, it's been stated by New York police that his murder was not a hate crime. This is apparently evidenced by the fact that several of his killers were fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community. I am exhausted by this mindset that so many people seem to have. I am exhausted of being told that it is not hateful if the hate comes from your own community. As a trans person myself, I can confirm that at least a quarter of the hate I receive comes from other LGBTQ+ people.

In the case of Sam Nordquist, five people have been arrested and charged with second degree murder - but I will not humanize them by giving their names. If convicted, each suspect may receive fifteen years to life in prison. And politicians always say thoughts are prayers while doing absolutely nothing to mitigate future risk. And police always say it wasn't a hate crime even when all evidence points to the contrary. Sam Nordquist should still be alive. Trans people deserve to live. Trans people deserve to grow old.

Of course, Sam wasn't the first trans person to be killed this year. Nor will he be the last. According to studies done by the National Institutes of Health, half of all trans people attempt suicide at least once in their lives. Hate kills, and we all know it - but unless people are directly impacted by something, no one talks about it.