As news broke and details emerged of Tuesday’s mass shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Dee McWatters says her heart sank. She was thinking about the victims, their families, as well as the transgender community.
“It was like, ‘oh no, people are going to use this to weaponize hate … and use it as an excuse against the transgender community,’” said McWatters, who herself is a transgender woman that lives in southern B.C.
Even before the shooter’s identity was confirmed by police, speculation about their gender identify spread across social media. Independent B.C. MLA Tara Armstrong posted on X, saying “there is an epidemic of transgender violence spreading across the West.”
The post goes on to say: “this epidemic of violence will continue until we change our society’s response to transgender ideology.”
CTV News reached out to Armstrong, but she has not responded to a request for comment.
Many groups have come out against the MLA’s comments, including the Kelowna Pride Society.
“Let us be clear: violence is not caused by gender identity or trans identities,” the group wrote in a statement. “Attempts to weaponize tragedy to target trans, non-binary and two-spirit people are harmful, inaccurate and unacceptable.”
Elon Musk also shared a number of tweets to his 234 million followers on X, claiming that trans people are more likely to carry out mass violence.
Like many members of the trans community, McWatters worries these comments...
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