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'Hate has consequences': Outrage as trans group calls Nashville school shooter Audrey Hale 'victim of hate' and mourns his 'tragic' death

TRN claimed that Audrey Hale had 'no other effective way to be seen' than killing six people at The Covenant School in Nashville

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: The Trans Resistance Network (TRN), a radical transgender group, has sparked outrage after their interpretation of the horrible school shooting in Nashville on Monday, March 27. TRN claimed that the transgender shooter in Nashville, Audrey Hale, felt that killing six people at a private Covenant school was the most "effective way to be seen" and was a victim of "anti-trans hate".

TRN released an unexpected statement on Monday, March 27 in response to the shooting at Nashville's Covenant School by Hale, which claimed the lives of three nine-year-olds and three adults, according to Fox News. The six victims of the shooting were named by Nashville police as Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, and Hallie Scruggs, all aged nine, as well as Michael Hill, 61, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Katherine Koonce, 60. Police stated that the victims were shot and killed when Hale, a 28-year-old transgender former Covenant School student, approached the scene with two "assault-type rifles" and a handgun and began to fire. Responding Metropolitan Nashville Police Officers Rex Englebert and Michael Collazo fatally shot Hale.

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Hale is biologically female but online profiles revealed that the shooter used the name 'Aiden' and preferred male pronouns like 'he/his'.

What is the second tragedy stemming from the Nashville school shooting?

TRN described the mass murder as a double "tragedy" -- the murder of the three nine-year-olds and three staff members, and the death of Hale. The group sent their "deepest sympathies and heartfelt prayers to those families dealing with the loss of loved ones." TRN wrote, "There is nothing we can offer that will comfort the hurt, or ease the sorrow. We mourn with you."

TRN added, "The second and more complex tragedy is that Aiden or Audrey Hale, who felt [he] had no other effective way to be seen than to lash out by taking the life of others, and by consequence, [himself]." 

'We will not be eradicated or erased'

TRN stated that while they "do not claim to know the individual or have access to their inner thoughts and feelings," they "do know that life for transgender people is very difficult, and made more difficult in the preceding months by a virtual avalanche of anti-trans legislation, and public callouts by Right Wing personalities and political figures for nothing less than the genocidal eradication of trans people from society."

TRN stated, "Many transgender people deal with anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide, and PTSD from the near-constant drum beat of anti-trans hate, lack of acceptance from family members and certain religious institutions, denial of our existence, and calls for de-transition and forced conversion."

TRN continued, "All of these factors contribute to a population that is medically under-served and who often faces anti-trans bias while accessing care leading to significant physical and mental health disparities. Hate has consequences."

TRN then changed its tone to praise transgender people, stating, "It is a testament to the inner strength and beauty of transgender people, that despite the overwhelming odds of homelessness, job discrimination, and constant anti-trans bigotry and violence, so many of us continue to persevere, survive and even thrive. We will not be eradicated or erased."

'How to say 'sorry not sorry' for mass shooting'

Many people have responded to the statements made by TRN on Twitter with one person writing, "How to say, 'Sorry not sorry' for mass shooting. Yes, hate DOES have consequences." Another person wrote, "It's time to put an end to 'pride nights' indefinitely." A third individual wrote, "I don't necessarily disagree with this fully. The silence given to mental health (across the board, not only trans) is loud. Mental health is what kills people, not guns. Trans people need in a different way. We shouldn't be catering to an illness(with respect). We should be creating places for them to understand who and what they are."

Another individual wrote, "I'll tell you what has consequences. Encouraging unstable people to embrace their mental illness, pretend to be something they can never be, and take massive amounts of mood-altering hormones more typically found in the other sex." One person wrote, "No one who walks into a school with two ak-47's and a pistol is a victim of anything. They are a CRIMINAL! Did they get the ak-47's from the FBI????? That is my question." One person wrote, "Sounds like a terrorist organization."

What is Trans Resistance Network?

TRN describes itself as a group of skilled organizers, devoted supporters, and concerned groups who are joining together for the long-term survival and well-being of gender-varied people in a more harsh climate, according to its website.

"The Trans Resistance Network (TRN) was formed to ensure the survival of gender-diverse people and families through strategic coordination of community defense, mutual aid, and alternative systems of gender-affirming care. We prioritize support for gender-diverse children and families who are facing imminent danger, and gender-diverse people who are Indigenous, Black and Brown. Trans rights are human rights!" the website added.

This article contains remarks made on the internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online