macvilla.blogg.se

This year has been one of the most deadly on record for the transgender community - particularly for black trans women, who make up the majority of those who have been murdered over the last three years. Supreme Court case that brought down the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, sued Mississippi over its anti-LGBT law, winning an injunction that blocked the law's implementation just hours before it was to take effect. Out attorney Roberta Kaplan, who represented Edie Windsor in the landmark U.S. The law also prohibited the state from recognizing transgender people's authentic gender identity, declaring that one's sex assigned at birth would be the only gender legally recognized by the state. Meanwhile, Mississippi made headlines earlier this year for passing one of the most aggressively anti-LGBT laws in the country, effectively enshrining a business's right to refuse service to gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Department of Justice is also investigating the case, and may file federal hate-crime charges against Vallum. Williamson's killer, Josh Vallum, pleaded guilty to Williamson's murder July 12 and was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2014, the Sun Herald was the first to accurately identify Mercedes Williamson, a 17-year-old transgender girl who was murdered by a gang member in Mississippi, then misgendered by several local and national outlets. By doing so, the paper continues to set itself apart from its contemporaries, as a local outlet that covers transgender people respectfuly. In a marked difference from the majority of mainstream coverage of anti-trans homicide, the Sun Herald accurately identified Whigham as the woman she was, adhering to journalistic best practices endorsed by the Associated Press and GLAAD. "I just can't believe is gone forever," she wrote. Whigham's sister Denisha also mourned the young nurse on social media. " was a hard-working, kind-hearted person who was just starting life who did not deserve this," Cooley said. Raquel Cooley, Whigham's cousin, told the Sun Herald that it was deeply unfair that her cousin's life had been taken. "I know Dee will be missed by her co-workers, supervisors, and the Forrest Health family." "She will be remembered at Forrest Health as an excellent nurse who was well-loved by her patients," said Forrest Health CEO Evan Dillary. The hospital's CEO spoke fondly of the young woman in a statement to the Sun Herald. Whigham had recently completed her nursing licensure, and since January worked as a registered nurse at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Miss. She was reportedly sharing the hotel room where she was killed with friends who were also planning to attend the rodeo. Originally from Shubuta, a small town in central Mississippi, Whigham had traveled to the Biloxi area with friends to attend the Gulf Coast Black Rodeo at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. But if investigators discover that Hickerson did kill Whigham in part because of her gender identity, Hickerson could be charged under the federal hate-crime statute passed in 2009 and signed into law by President Obama. Mississippi's hate-crime statute does not currently cover gender identity, and only 17 states have enacted such measures to date. Police officials have thus far declined to comment on the possibility that Whigham's murder was a hate crime or motivated by her gender identity. Charges were filed against Hickerson after police officers searched his residence at the nearby Keesler Air Force Base. Navy recruit originally from New Orleans, who was stationed in the area for training.

The local paper reports that Hickerson is a U.S.