Grayson Keck
Age 15 (born 24 Jan 2003)28 Apr 2018
Columbia, South Carolina (USA)
Suicide
Grayson died by suicide. Two years earlier he had testified at a Congressional hearing on transphobic laws which were before the legislature in his State.
Grayson Keck, born [deadname] Keck, has died at the tender age of 15, on April 28th, 2018.
Grayson was a talented artist, recognized by his acceptance to attend the prestigious summer program at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. That opportunity afforded Grayson two of the best weeks of his life.
Grayson was a passionate advocate for the transgender community and testified in front of the South Carolina State Senate to drive home the importance of inclusion, understanding, and acceptance.
His mother believes that the transphobic attitudes such bills represent cost her son his life.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - There are three bills working through the statehouse now that members of the transgender community say target them or leave them out. They say the simple message behind these bills puts lives in danger.
The first bill is a bipartisan bill that bans anyone younger than 18 from getting any medical procedure including hormones or surgery related to changing the gender they were assigned at birth.
The other bill would ban trans women from playing sports in middle school and high school. And the third bill is the hate crime legislation that now leaves out members of the LGBTQ community.
A South Carolina mother said this type of language and beliefs behind these bills cost her son’s life; Grayson Keck committed suicide when he was 15 years old.
“You get up everyday and you have to make a choice,” Danielle Driscoll said. “You have to make a choice whether this is going to leave you completely bitter or whether you try to move on in honor of your child.”
Now, Driscoll wants lawmakers to know her son’s story before voting on these bills she says are anti-trans.
“If you understood what these kids have to fight through every day just to feel accepted in this world and you throw this stuff on them, it’s too much. It’s too much,” Driscoll said.
https://www.scgsah.org/grayson-keck-memorial-fund
https://www.bosticktompkinsinc.com/notices/Grayson-Keck
