Transgender

The new TV ad from opponents of Kalamazoo’s anti-discrimination ordinance serves to highlight the starkly different way both sides in this fight characterize it – supporters saying it promotes basic fairness and equality, opponents saying it opens the bathroom and locker-room door to “cross-dressing men.”

While Kalamazoo’s proposed Ordinance 1856 would bar discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, it’s the second category that has generated the most controversy.

Melissa Sue Robinson, a candidate for mayor in the Idaho town of Nampa, has threatened to sue the social networking site Twitter over a false account created in her name. The account allegedly posted lewd things in her name, she claims.
Robinson claims the Twitter folks allowed an unknown individual to create an account using her [...]

Helen Stojic, spokesperson for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, says the decision by the insurer to eliminate coverage of gender reassignment was simply a matter of aligning their product with what is currently offered in the market.
“We took a look at our product line and what other insurers were covering in other markets,” she [...]

A broad coalition of organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union, The National Association of Social Workers, Transgender Michigan and others, are condemning a move by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan to eliminate coverage for gender reassignment surgery. The new entity calls itself The Michigan Coalition for Gender Equality.

The U.S. Department of State announced today it was reversing an earlier decision by the Bush administration and will support the United Nations statement on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.”

Back in June we told you the story of Duanna Johnson who was beaten while in police custody in Memphis, Tenn. Johnson had been arrested on charges of prostitution; during her booking, the officer called her antigay slurs, then attacked her. It was all on video which can be seen here.
It’s now come to light [...]

Helms dies, LGBT community remembers his ruthless actions against them.

While the conservative blogs and news outlets were praising former Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, many in the LGBT community remembered the hatred and bigotry he ushered in during his 30-year tenure in the U.S. Senate. The video above was created by AIDS activists [...]

[COMMENTARY] We all have labels we attach to ourselves. It could be preppy, African-American or gay. Those self-imposed labels are a key aspect of a person’s identity, and as members of the media, we have an obligation to reflect those choices. It becomes a matter of respect. And in general, the media do reflect those [...]

DETROIT — The murder of a transgender woman discovered this week has been mishandled by the Detroit Police Department, says Mara Keisling,executive director of the National Center for Trangender Equality.

“Understand that this kind of crime, besides being a tragedy for the victim and her loved ones, makes a lot of people nervous,” Keisling said. “Withholding [...]