Statement: Murder of Jacob Williamson, South Carolina Transgender Man

LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia grieves the senseless death of Jacob Williamson, an 18-year-old transgender man murdered in a possible hate crime in South Carolina on June 30th. Williamson was described as “beloved” by all.

Whether targeted for being transgender or as an individual vulnerable after recently moving out of his childhood home due to his family’s rejection of his gender identity, Williamson’s murder underscores the need for Virginia and the nation to recognize gender identity and sexual orientation as hate crime categories and oppose legislation and policies targeting transgender individuals and those that delegitimize and erase the transgender experience.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, Williamson is the fourteenth known violent killing of a transgender or gender nonconforming individual in the United States this year. There are likely many more that are not known.

LGBT+ Democrats of Virginia is committed to continuing our work to advocate for the LGBT+ community within the Democratic Party of Virginia and will continue to work to improve the lives of transgender individuals and their families across the Commonwealth.