According to Remembering Our Dead Web project there were 101 murders of transgender people in 2009, 11 in the US and 90 in other countries. One of those especially captured my attention this year because the horrific murder took place in my hometown of Syracuse, NY. Lateisha Green was shot as she sat in her car in November of last year because the killer thought she was transgender.

Today is the day we set aside to remember those who died. Today, November 20th, is Transgender Day of Remembrance. Vigils and demonstrations will happen around the world. Find one near you.

Want to do more? How to be an ally to the trans community.

_{© Photo by Pedro SimãoM}

I heard the news today of another murdered gay teenager. I feel compelled to write about it, even though I am at a loss for words. But I know I can't ignore that it happened. Fifteen year old Jason Mattison Jr. was known for his sharp wit, his tight jeans and being openly gay in his Baltimore middle school.

But today family and friends are mourning his life. Last week Jason was found dead in his aunt's house: raped, gagged with a pillowcase, stabbed repeatedly in the head and throat and shoved into a closet. A family friend is charged with his murder.

The news of Jason's murder comes on the heels of another brutal murder. That of Jorge Steven López, 19, in Cayey, Puerto Rico. According to the Human Rights Campaign, Jorge's killer confessed to murdering him after "discovering his female gender presentation did not match his male sex." Whether Jorge was a cross-dresser or transgender, I don't know, but I do know that the violence against our community has to stop.

The passage of the hate crimes law was important, but it does nothing to stop the murders. I am sad because I don't know what it will take. I wish I had the answers.

Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney gave birth to her second child today, a daughter named Sarah Lynne Cheney.

This is Mary Cheney and her partner Heather Poe's second child. They have a son Samuel born in 2007.

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News came down over the weekend of another gay media outlet shutting down. Window Media, LLC the publisher of The Washington Blade, The Southern Voice, The Houston Voice and South Florida Blade closed its doors and have ceased publication. The company had been struggling financially for more than a year.

This announcement comes less than a month after hearing that The Advocate, the country's oldest LGBT new magazine will cease its monthly publication, will no longer be available on newsstands and will be added as a quarterly insert in Out magazine. It's been a year of gay newspapers and lesbian websites shutting down. What's going on?

Some blame the demise of gay media on the economy and decrease in ad sales. Others say that mainstream publications are more willing to cover LGBT issues, so the need for gay-specific media is no longer necessary.

I disagree. While our major issues, like marriage and anti-gay violence may get mainstream coverage, there are many, many topics that only LGBT media take on. Like what happened after Prop 8 passed in California. Or the raiding of gay bars recently in Texas and Atlanta.

The gay media offers a perspective and in depth coverage that can't be found in mainstream media. Besides, mainstream print media is also suffering. As daily papers cut staff and budgets, how will they find the space to give coverage to our issues?

Am I the only one concerned about this? Add your thoughts to the comments below.