More transgender people were killed this year than ever before, and today is the day to remember them

Advocates for LGBT people will hold a vigil at the N.C. State Capitol tonight to honor the record number of transgender people whose lives were lost to violence in the past year.

Across the country, at least 25 transgender people are known to have been killed so far in 2017, including two transgender women who died in Charlotte, Derricka Banner and Sherrell Faulkner. Most of the victims were people of color.

The Human Rights Campaign says 25 is the highest number of such deaths ever recorded in a year. In 2016, at least 23 transgender people were killed, the group says.

“People are being murdered for who they are,” said Kelly Taylor, assistant director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh, the sponsor of the vigil at the Capitol. “The violence seems to be increasing.”

The vigil is one of 11 planned across the state to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance, which began in 1999. And it comes at a time when LGBT rights are in the spotlight, from North Carolina’s repealed House Bill 2 (the so-called Bathroom Bill) to President Trump’s proposed ban on transgender troops, which has been blocked temporarily.

Participants are invited to gather on the south side of the Capitol at 6 p.m. Candles will be provided. The vigil begins at 6:30 p.m. and will include a reading of the names of all the victims, and a time for remembrance. Afterward, guests are welcome at a community reception at the LGBT Center, 324 S. Harrington St., Raleigh.

Victim advocates say it’s difficult to count how often transgender people are targeted for attacks in North Carolina because of their identities. The Human Rights Campaign, which tries to track deaths, says some of the cases involve clear anti-transgender bias, while in other cases, the victim’s transgender status may have put them at risk in other ways, such as causing them to be pushed out of their home and onto the streets.

“While the details of these cases differ, it is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects transgender women of color, and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia conspire to deprive them of employment, housing, healthcare and other necessities, barriers that make them vulnerable,” according to the campaign’s website.

The vigils are the culmination of Transgender Awareness Week, established by advocates to raise the visibility of transgender people and address the issues they face.

On Thursday, the LGBT center will offer what it’s calling a Trans-Giving celebration, “for those who have too far to go, or nowhere to go, for a traditional Thanksgiving meal.” The center will provide the turkey and beverages. Guests are asked to bring a side dish or make a cash donation.

The event will run from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m Thursday at the center, with dinner served at 5 p.m.

This story was originally published November 20, 2017 at 4:39 PM with the headline "More transgender people were killed this year than ever before, and today is the day to remember them."