After authorities said the Nashville school shooter identified as transgender, anti-trans sentiment about the community surged from far-right political figures. Gun reform advocates and LGBTQ activists say the transgender community is being used as a “scapegoat” and that focusing on the shooter’s reported trans identity is a distraction from what they say is the root of the issue: guns. “Despite what the gun industry and their political allies want, attempting to find a scapegoat isn’t going to take away from the fact that what is causing gun violence in America is our easy access to firearms,” said Kris Brown, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Advocates say transgender people have historically and falsely been categorized as violent or dangerous – perpetuating anti-transgender sentiment and further ostracizing a vulnerable and small population.