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BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) — The Louisiana chapters of Moms Demand Action and the Students Demand Action released a statement in response to the death of 34-year-old Keeva Scatter, a transgender Black woman, who was shot and killed in Baton Rouge in October of 2021.

Scatter’s death was the 54th shooting of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2021 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

“Our hearts break for Keeva’s loved ones and the entire trans community today,” said Angelle Bradford, a volunteer with the Louisiana chapter of Moms Demand Action. “As we honor Keeva’s life, her death must serve as a somber reminder of the disproportionate effect that America’s gun violence crisis has on Black transgender and gender non-conforming people every day. Thoughts and prayers aren’t enough — lawmakers need to do more to protect our trans neighbors from these senseless acts of violence.”

2021 has been the deadliest year on record for trans and gendered non-conforming people in the country.