Happened last month, but folks outside Charleston, SC just found out about it.

“[Adolphus] Simmons, 18, who dressed as a woman and was doing freelance work as a hairstylist, was shot multiple times about 8 p.m. Monday when he took out his trash, witnesses said.” Three teens have been charged. Police have said there is no indication that it was a hate crime—but also have not given any indication of what the motive was.

Profile of the victim. On the positive side, Simmons’ friends and neighbors accepted him (his mother used male pronouns) and “looked past the clothes and hair he wore and saw only a loving human being.”

Between Lawrence King in California and Simmie “Chris/Beyonce” Williams in Florida, Ashley Sweeney in Detroit and Talib “Nesha” Stewart in New York all being killed, and a 10-year-old kid with gender issues committing suicide, it’s been a tough month for trans/gender varient folks.

Too much death, too much death…

At least two of the cases involved hate crimes—both King and Williams faced anti-gay slurs from the alleged killers—and Stewart’s killer invoked the reprehensible “gay panic” defense (echoed by the ever-so-sensitive Daily News’ headline: “Fooled john stabbed Bronx tranny”) but yet the foes of trans-inclusive rights protections within the gay and lesbians communities argue that gender variance has no connection—none, nada, no way—to sexual orientation and therefore can be dropped in order to gain protections for sexual orientation. Funny how those who hate us don’t bother to draw those distinctions. Yes, I’m bitter…