News and Events => People news => Topic started by: LostInTime on July 13, 2006, 09:58:24 AM Return to Full Version
Title: No longer on the fringe
Post by: LostInTime on July 13, 2006, 09:58:24 AM
Post by: LostInTime on July 13, 2006, 09:58:24 AM
Slaying raises awareness of violence in transgender community (http://www.pioneerlocal.com/cgi-bin/ppo-story/localnews/current/eg/07-13-06-947134.html)
Heskin lived her life on her own terms, but it's her death -- why she was bludgeoned on the head repeatedly with a hammer -- that is still something of a mystery.
To the transgender community, however, it's not a mystery. Her death is just another piece of an unsettling pattern. It's a trend of violence against transgender people that is largely ignored by America, advocates say, just as the transgender population as a whole is ignored.
On Tuesday, the man accused of murdering Heskin heads to court to pursue his not-guilty plea. Throughout the trial, Heskin's family will be sitting in the back of the courtroom with pictures of her in hand. Meanwhile, transgender advocates will try to put a face to the statistics and change the national mindset.
Heskin lived her life on her own terms, but it's her death -- why she was bludgeoned on the head repeatedly with a hammer -- that is still something of a mystery.
To the transgender community, however, it's not a mystery. Her death is just another piece of an unsettling pattern. It's a trend of violence against transgender people that is largely ignored by America, advocates say, just as the transgender population as a whole is ignored.
On Tuesday, the man accused of murdering Heskin heads to court to pursue his not-guilty plea. Throughout the trial, Heskin's family will be sitting in the back of the courtroom with pictures of her in hand. Meanwhile, transgender advocates will try to put a face to the statistics and change the national mindset.