Honee, who was also named as Honee Moffett in some media reporting, was known among loved ones for her “charming personality,” love of superhero movies, and hair and make-up skills. Speaking to Gay City News, Dominic L. Wright-McCloud, a friend of 22 years, described her as someone who “could make anyone look like a movie star with a little time and the right makeup palette,” and who was a “big portion of the LGBTQ community in Buffalo and Rochester.”

Honee had been walking home a little before midnight on October 2nd when she was fatally struck by a vehicle which fled the scene. Though the driver and vehicle have been identified by authorities, no arrests have been made at the time of this writing.

In an injustice compounding this tragedy, Honee was misgendered in some media and police reports. In the last 11 years that HRC has been tracking fatal violence against the transgender and gender-expansive community, approximately two-thirds of all known victims were misgendered by the media and/or by law enforcement. Anti-transgender stigma is exacerbated by callous or disrespectful treatment by some in the media, law enforcement and elected offices. In the pursuit of greater accuracy and respect, HRC offers guidelines for journalists and others who report on transgender people. HRC, Media Matters and the Trans Journalists Association have also partnered on an FAQ for reporters writing about anti-trans violence.

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 Count Me In 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.