'Have a Jax Day' Colorado Senate Remembers Slain Trans Activist on Day of Visibility

Story & Photos by Giles Clasen

On important occasions, Jax Gratton FaceTimed her mom, Cherilynne Gratton-Camis, for a fit check, the practice of seeking input on her outfit and look.

Gratton-Camis couldn't help but think about those lost moments on Tuesday, March 31, when the Colorado Senate honored Jax on Transgender Day of Visibility, remembering her on the Senate floor as a woman whose boldness, generosity, and advocacy left a mark far beyond her own community.

Gratton-Camis chose to wear the identical pair of pants Jax was wearing when she died as a way of celebrating her daughter. Her hair was pulled up, the way Jax always liked it.

One last fit check. On her terms.

"My mother would tell her that all the time that pretty is as pretty does, and I think Jax took that to heart. She did pretty things, and she had a pretty heart, and people saw that," Gratton-Camis said.

The tribute brought Jax's family into the chamber, and the day was framed as both a celebration of transgender visibility and a recognition of the violence and hostility transgender people face.

Sen. Chris Kolker opened the remarks by noting that Transgender Day of Visibility began in 2009 as a way for transgender people to come together in joy. 

"Jax was truly the best of us," Kolker said.

Kolker said Jax showed love to those in need and made wellness kits for unhoused neighbors. He said she offered "affirmations, healing, and a safe space" to everyone.

"On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor Jax for how she lived, how she loved, and all she did for the state and the world," Kolker said. "Have a Jax day today. Do something kind."

Sen. Katie Wallace connected Jax's life and death to broader threats facing transgender people.

"Here in Colorado, we recognize that visibility without safety is not enough," Wallace said.

Honoring Jax, Wallace said, should also mean committing to a state where transgender people can live openly and safely. She also warned of anti-trans measures expected to be on Colorado ballots this fall.

Gratton-Camis said the tribute was powerful because it focused on Jax's life rather than the circumstances of her death.

"I'm proud of how she led her life. I'm proud of her wanting to make people feel beautiful," Gratton-Camis said.

Still, grief remains close. Gratton-Camis said she still finds herself waiting for the kinds of messages Jax used to send. But even with the public recognition, Gratton-Camis said she has not found peace.

In March, a Jefferson County grand jury indicted Brandon David Mumma, 44, on felony charges of tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. He was not charged directly in connection with Jax's death and is not facing murder or manslaughter charges.

Investigators say Mumma was one of the last people seen with Jax before she disappeared. According to the indictment, he left her around 2 a.m. on April 15, 2025, while she was under the influence of drugs. He returned hours later, allegedly moved her body, and never reported her death. Jax's body was found in a Lakewood alley on June 6, 2025.

Because of the time between Jax's death and the discovery of her remains, authorities say the cause and manner of death may never be determined, making murder charges more difficult to prosecute.

"I feel like tampering with a deceased human is not enough of a charge to give this person," said Brandy Carey, who was friends with Jax for five years and has been a constant presence in advocating for justice since Jax went missing. "He admitted that he thought she was overdosing, and he left her to die. So where's the culpability there?"x

"This is a time now for everybody to be louder, be prouder, be stronger, because we can't let them win," Carey said. "There are many people out here who are willing to fight and to make sure that all trans people have the same liberties that cis people have."

The advocates who rallied around Jax have continued fighting for broader change, pushing the City of Lakewood to form a permanent civilian-led police oversight committee following what her mother said was mistreatment by the department during the investigation into Jax's death.

Z Williams, co-executive director of Bread and Roses Legal Center, worked with Gratton-Camis as a family advocate and said the fight for accountability was always about something larger.

Williams is advancing a bill to seal minor name change records from public databases, after a child's gender-affirming name change was exposed online and the family was bullied out of Colorado.

"Justice for Jax was never about just an arrest," Williams said. "It's about looking at all the things that happened to get us to where we are now. How we value trans women, specifically in our communities, how we think of them, how our society treats trans women, how our law enforcement perceives trans women, how our media treats trans women, all of those things are part of justice for Jax. It's not just one person going through the legal process. It's about creating a fairer and just world."

Williams warned that even in a state like Colorado, the political will to protect transgender people can buckle under pressure.

"Even some of the people we consider our allies are also willing to throw us under the bus or stop pressing the minute that it becomes inconvenient," Williams said.

Gratton-Camis said she, too, sees Justice for Jax as part of that bigger fight: for trans women, for Black and brown communities, for anyone the system has failed. But on Tuesday, for one day, she appreciated the focus on her daughter.

"I still love Jax with my every being," Gratton-Camis said, "and I wish she was here, and I could hear from her for one more fit check."