Our willful ignorance undermines our ability to make good policy
One of the more colorful crime stories of the Biden administration concerned Sam Brinton, an official working on nuclear-waste issues who was arrested for chronic luggage theft. Brinton, who describes himself as nonbinary, was convicted of nabbing women’s suitcases from airports and then confidently wearing the ladieswear he had found inside. One victim, a Tanzanian fashion designer, realized Brinton had stolen her luggage when she spotted him at a gala beaming in one of her African gowns.
Nationwide, headlines describe a spectrum of transgendered, nonbinary, and other “gender non-conforming” variations of criminal offenders. These range from relatively innocuous criminality—like Brinton’s—to deadly violence. In January, transgender repeat knife offender Jaia Cruz fatally stabbed a postal worker after jockeying over places in the sandwich line at a Manhattan deli. A few weeks later, transgender Nicol Suarez, who was being pursued by ICE for previous crimes, stalked and then raped a 14-year-old boy in a bodega bathroom in East Harlem. In February, 18-year-old transgender Trinity Shockley was arrested as she planned a mass Valentine’s Day school shooting. She failed where Tennessee transgender teen Audrey Hale succeeded; Hale gunned down six kids and adults at The Covenant School.
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Hannah E. Meyers is a fellow and director of policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute.
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