I have never been good at remembering important dates. It took moving 2500 miles away from my parents to remember their birthdays without looking at a calendar. I've been gay all of my life but it wasn't till this year that I remembered without being reminded by the HRC that October 11 is National Coming Out Day. Embarrassingly enough I still didn't remember that the Transgender Day of Remembrance is today. Thank you to Alley Hector at QPDX for reminding everyone, myself included.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder in 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Since then, the event has grown to encompass memorials in dozens of cities across the world.
Just in time for remembering those lost to violence simply for who they are (and who continue to be left out of protective legislation) Lynn and Pat Mulder, who son was killed for being gay, have submitted a question for the next Republican debate, scheduled for Wednesday, November 28th. Let's see how the candidates square their family values and compassionate conservatism when confronted with the reality of their dismissive bigotry.
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