Sex-Change (sic) Operation Tests Marriage Law

It will be up to some of the great minds of Kentucky law to find an answer.

The courtroom brainteaser comes courtesy of a Louisville marital dispute or, better yet, the case of the Paul who became a Paula.

The Paul in this scenario is Paul Spina. About 22 years ago, Spina married Sharon Hays, whose family owns a big Ford dealership in Louisville. Spina went to work for the in-laws, serving as general counsel to the company's network of car dealerships. Spina says he and his wife accumulated company stock worth

Last year, Spina went to Thailand and underwent a sex-change operation (sic). He returned with a new name: Paula Spina.


~

Companies doing more to welcome gay workers
By CATRINE JOHANSSON
Orange County Register

An open work environment leads to happier employees and therefore higher productivity, said Kirk Snyder, 44, a researcher and teacher at USC who has written "Lavender Road to Success: The Career Guide for the Gay Community."

He bases the book on a study of 302 USC gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual alumni he interviewed about their workplace experiences.

Snyder found that workers who hide their sexuality at work make less money and are less productive than openly gay people.

Technology, entertainment and human-resources sectors are the most welcoming, Snyder said, while finance, insurance and some medical fields still have a ways to go.


~

Homophobia: a matter of life and death
Farida Iqbal
Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (GLTBIQ) issues have been in the mainstream media a lot recently. Prime Minister John Howard has decided to ban gay marriage, a decision that conveniently coincides with the pre-election period.


Despite the media attention, there are some things that you don’t hear from the Channel 10 news or from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Some things you only find out through being in the GLBTIQ community — or by wading through piles of reports and public health journals.

The suicide rate for gay men, particularly young gay men, is ridiculously high in this country. It may be up to seven times that of heterosexuals, according to 2003 figures from the Victorian Department of Human Services and the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Gay and Lesbian Health. The suicide rates for other GLBTIQ people are also high but not as heavily researched. The Department of Human Services figures also show a high rate of mental illness among GLBTIQ people.

GLBTIQ people are very poorly treated in Australian prisons. Gays and transsexuals are at the bottom of the prison hierarchy and are commonly raped and abused. Male-to-female transsexuals are categorised as men and are placed in male prisons.

Prison is not a safe environment to be “out and proud”. Many prisoners commit suicide soon after “coming out” in prison. However, it is impossible to estimate the rate of GLBTIQ deaths in custody, because no research has been carried out on this subject.