Trans people already fighting for rights in Tennessee have a new fear in the wake of a tragedy

[steve from amherst]

As Tennessee was mourning those killed in a mass shooting at a Christian school this week, speculation about the killer's gender identity was quickly weaponized in an ongoing battle against transgender and LGBTQ rights.

Police killed the shooter approximately 14 minutes after a 911 call from The Covenant School in Nashville, where three nine-year-old and three school staff members were gunned down Monday morning. 

Speaking with media hours later, Nashville's police chief said the killer, Audrey Hale, was transgender and suggested the 28-year-old's gender identity may have some connection to a motive and a purported manifesto left behind. 

Fear of repercussions

Sanders said it's unclear right now if the discussion of the shooter's gender identity will have any sort of implications on the LGBTQ community, or on bills that are still advancing in the state legislature. 

But there is an "incredible escalation of the fear factor" about whether transgender people will face some form of retaliation for the killer's actions, said Marisa Richmond, a Nashville resident and a gender studies and history professor at Middle Tennessee State University in nearby Murfreesboro. 

She said some events planned for Friday's International Day of Transgender Visibility were postponed out of grief and respect for the lives lost, but also out due to security concerns.

"I understand why some people may be reluctant to put themselves out in a very visible way given the general mood that exists right now," Richmond said.