In an interview with the Columbus Dispatch released in June, Kassim shared from her nursing home bed that she was never interviewed by detectives in connection with the shooting that left her paralyzed. Following the shooting one juvenile, age 16 at the time, was charged while another, age 12, was not. Both will now face murder charges according to reporting.

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 2023, the most recent year for which data is available, the FBI found that more than 1 in 5 hate crimes were motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias, and saw a 16% jump in attacks based on gender identity from the year before.

Ohio is unfortunately not a stranger to anti-trans violence –or gun violence. Ohio has seen a 66% increase in gun homicides over the last decade, as reported by Everytown for Gun Safety, with Black Ohioans 17 times as likely as white Ohioans to die by gun homicide. Since HRC began tracking fatal violence against the trans and gender-expansive community, a total of 20 trans Ohioans have lost their lives–tied with Pennsylvania for the 6th highest state total. Three-quarters of all victims were Black trans women, almost 90% of whom were killed with a gun.

At the state level, transgender and gender-expansive people in Ohio are not explicitly protected from discrimination in employment, housing, education and public spaces. Additionally, Ohio does not include sexual orientation or 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 seen 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 over 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.