For Immediate Release: Dated November 9, 2003 From: The Ct TransAdvocacy Coalition (CTAC) Contact: Jerimarie Liesegang, Director Contact Email: jerimarie@transadvocacy.com Contact Phone: 860-680-9952 Website: http://www.transadvocacy.com  CONNECTICUT’S TRANSGENDER DAY OF REMEMBRANCE SET FOR NOVEMBER 20, 2003, Transphobic Hate and Violence at a near endemic rate  HARTFORD, Connecticut, November 9, 2003 – This year on November 20th, a number of Vigils will be held in Connecticut in cities such as Hartford and New Haven.  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 on November 28th, 1998, was a primary impetus behind the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999.  Rita Hester’s murder — like most anti-transgender murder cases — has yet to be solved.  Such Transphobic hate crimes are not just against transgender people, but anyone who transgresses the so called acceptable masculine/feminine norms of our society.  These could be your children, your brothers, your sisters, your parents, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, you! In fact this year one was a Connecticut  neighbor – Jessica Mercado of New Haven. Tragic murders of those individuals who visibly transgress the gender binaries of male/female [Transgender] are occurring nationally at a rate of over one person a month.  And each year the number of these murders is increasing, with very few being solved, most sensationalized by the press and many ignored by the police or plea bargained by the prosecutor.  And each murder is horrific in nature, with many against our youth [ages 17, 18, 19, …].  Last year's Transgender Day of Remembrance was honored with events in over 90 locations in 8 countries.  This year's event is expected to surpass the 2002 event, with vigils occurring not only in many US Cities, but around the globe as well.  The Metropolitan Community Church of Hartford [1841 Broad Street, Hartford] is again the host of a Vigil this year.  Additionally, a Vigil will be held at the New Haven Gay and Lesbian Community Center of New Haven [50 Fitch Street, New Haven].  These services will both be held at 7 PM on Thursday, November 20th.  Connecticut’s Day of Remembrance is being co-sponsored by the following organizations: AIDS Project Greater Danbury; Anti-Defamation League, Connecticut Aids Residence Coalition; Conn-Bi-Nation; Connecticut Civil Liberties Union; Connecticut P.R.I.D.E.; Connecticut Outreach Society; Connecticut TransAdvocacy Coalition; Connecticut Women’s Education and Legal Fund; Dignity/Hartford; Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders; Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network – Connecticut Chapter; Metropolitan Community Church – Hartford; National Organization for Women – Connecticut State Chapter; New Haven Gay and Lesbian Community Center; Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Persons, Hartford Chapter; People of Faith for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Civil Rights; Project 100 Hartford Community Center; Project Orange – New Haven; Rainbow Center – University of Connecticut; the connecticuT View Transgender Organization; True Colors Inc, Sexual Minority Youth and Family Services; Twenty Club; UCC Coalition for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Concerns – Connecticut Chapter; Vintage Pride  For more information on the New Haven and Hartford vigils, visit www.transadvocacy.com/dor, or call (860) 680-9952 or email dor@transadvocacy.com.  For an international perspective visit The Remembering Our Dead project website [www.rememberingourdead.org] which  remembers those individuals murdered as a result of anti-transgender hatred and prejudice. ###