On Nov. 20, people around the world will be observing Transgender Day of Remembrance. This is a day to honor the lives and mourn the deaths of people murdered in anti-transgender bias assaults around the world.

We cannot tolerate one more assault, one more murder.

The last year has taken a dreadful toll. At least 29 transgender people were murdered just this past year. More than half of these occurred in the United States. At least 17 of the victims were people of color.

Responses from law enforcement have been problematic in some cases. “Friends reject police's take on transgender woman's death” was the headline that appeared in the Aurora Sentinel Nov. 13, one week after the body of Aimee Wilcoxson, a transgender woman from Aurora, Colo., was found in her home on a blood-soaked mattress. Local police there have claimed that evidence points to suicide as a likely cause of her death but friends have insisted that explanation seems very unlikely, given her life circumstances.

That same week several thousand miles away, the Memphis Police Department announced that it would be launching an investigation into the shooting death of Duanna Johnson, a transgender woman that two of their own police officers had beaten senseless just months before.

This past weekend, large rallies for same-sex marriage were held on the steps of city hall in New York City and I imagine that most of whose attendees were probably unaware that a young transgender woman of color, Latiesha Green, had been murdered the night before just a few hours north in Syracuse.

I certainly am saddened by the passage of Proposition 8 in California, barring gay marriage, as well as the passage of several other anti-gay initiatives in other states. But I lack words for the emotions I have about these murders. Why don’t we gather in the same numbers to demand fair investigations for these victims and to mourn their passing as we do to rally for marriage rights? Will the same people who attended these marriage rallies show up for their local Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigils?

Some of are fighting for the right to marry a life partner, and some of us are fighting for the right to stay alive. While it might be nice to have the option marriage at some point, every time I hear of another transgender person’s murder, I am keenly aware that my being alive is a prerequisite for that.

Avy Skolnik works as an anti-violence activist in New York City. He can be reached at pmproj [at] progressive [dot] org.