Discrimination against trans person on Folsom weekend
Location SF Bay Area


A genderqueer person was asked to leave at the Revels of Venus event (Sunday) at the Cherry Bar on Folsom weekend for not being "trans enough" according to event promoter Ren Davis Phoenix.

The event was billed as dyke and trans inclusive. Rev. Michael, who identifies as genderqueer and is male bodied, was there with the person who calls him her wife. They both identify as genderqueer in some way - in fact, the night before (Saturday) they hosted an art show all about their relationship and their identities as trans.

Event promoter Ren Davis Phoenix asked Michael to leave the event after saying that he is not genderqueer since he is not presenting as female. Ren also pointed to several other people including myself, my wife Turtle, my friend Joli(e) and declared us all to be trans but not him since he is male bodied.


~

HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT PASSED, LAUDED BY HRC
by: J Smith, OIA Newswire


Human Rights Campaign lauded yesterday's 213-186 procedural House vote - with 31 Republicans - in favor of passing the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The vote was on a motion to instruct - informing conference committee members that a bipartisan majority of the House wants it to pass, even as Majority Tom Delay refuses to bring the measure up for a vote.

"Congress should work to protect Americans, not discriminate against them," said HRC President Cheryl Jacques. "Today the House pushed leadership to keep the measure alive, but later this week they'll consider putting discrimination in the Constitution. It's mean-spirited, election-year politics that puts hard-working, tax-paying Americans at risk. We laud Congress for this vote, especially Minority Leader Pelosi for offering this motion and working to get the overwhelming support of her peers. We urge conference committee members to take it to heart - keep the federal hate crimes bill in conference committee."


~

GAY RIGHTS, PRO-CHOICE AND ANTI-WAR SCENES TO BE CUT FROM LINCOLN MEMORIAL VIDEO
Bush Administration Sits on Revised Video Until After Election


Washington, DC — In order to edit out filmed scenes of gay and abortion rights demonstrations that occurred at the Lincoln Memorial, the Bush Administration has spent more than a year and nearly $200,000 making two new versions of a video, according to agency records released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

In November 2003, under pressure from conservative religious groups, the Park Service announced that it would alter an eight-minute video containing photos and footage of demonstrations and other events taking place at the Lincoln Memorial. These conservative groups complained that footage of gay rights, pro-choice and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations implied that “Lincoln would have supported homosexual and abortion ‘rights’ as well as feminism.” The Park Service promised to develop a “more balanced” version of the videotape that has been shown at the Lincoln Memorial since 1995.


~

Scant LGBT benefits turn away potential staff, faculty
By Heather Keels
Senior staff writer

If you asked former Denton Hall Resident Director Trisha Lay last year how she felt about the campus climate for homosexual staff, she might have told you how her partner, who lived with her in Denton, couldn't use the Campus Recreation Center without paying the guest rate, or how her partner had to take community college classes because she wasn't granted the tuition remission benefits marital spouses receive.  

The university is asking faculty and staff just that question, but Lay isn't around to answer. She works at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, where her partner receives full spouse benefits


~

Boys deliberately killed Calgary man, prosecutor tells judge
By DAWN WALTON

CALGARY -- Irritated by accusations about stolen money and perceptions of homosexual advances, three teenage boys accused of first-degree murder deliberately planned the stabbing death of a 42-year-old Calgary man, a youth court heard during closing arguments yesterday.

Crown prosecutor Ken McCaffery told the court that on Jan. 7, the youths -- then 15 years old -- lured Eric Wong, a part-time disc jockey and security guard, into driving toward a secluded area where he was stabbed five times with knives the three had brought along.



~

New claims of forgeries on petitions
Man says dead mother's name among faked signatures on list supporting gay-marriage ban
By Stephen Dyer and Craig Webb
Beacon Journal staff writers


A steady flow of people denied Tuesday that they or their loved ones had signed a petition to get a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the Nov. 2 ballot. Many had been sent letters by local Republicans thanking them for their support.

Take Mike Meredith. The 47-year-old Clinton resident got a letter Saturday from Republican former state Rep. Twyla Roman thanking his mother -- Patricia Meredith of Tallmadge -- for signing the petition


~

HRC FOUNDATION RELEASES PUBLICATION ON IMPORTANCE OF THE JUDICIARY
“The makeup of the court is one of the most important outcomes of elections,” said HRC President Cheryl Jacques.


(Washington, DC)   Our nation’s courts play a pivotal role in the fight for equality, according to “Justice for All,” a report released today by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Part of an educational campaign funded by the Open Society Institute Network of the Soros Foundation’s Network, the publication clearly outlines the unique relationships between gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and allied-voters, legislators and judges.


~

Row over "anti-gay" cleric continues
Ben Townley, Gay.com UK


The row over the Muslim cleric Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi, accused by gay activists of being homophobic, and his meeting with London mayor Ken Livingstone continues today, after the Greater London Authority (GLA) apparently blocked a motion regretting the controversial event.

Gay rights groups in the capital are accusing Livingstone's Mayoral Advisor, Anni Marjoram, of pressuring members of the GLA's LGBT Forum not to vote on a motion that expressed regret at the meeting.


~

Project offers support for victims of anti-gay attacks
Ben Townley, Gay.com UK


A new project is set offer support for victims of homophobic attacks in West Yorkshire, in a bid to encourage more reporting of crimes.

The initiative will focus on victims of anti-gay attacks, as well as those of racist abuse and will see surgeries in towns and cities across the region.

So far, the surgeries will be in Todmorden, Elland, Brighouse and Halifax, although it is expected to be expanded across West Yorkshire in the future.

The surgeries will include a variety of experts trained to give advice on different aspects of hate crime, and are supported by the local council.


~

Soccer hairstyles banned for being 'too gay'


Attempts are gathering pace to stop young Nigerian footballers from wearing hair braids, dreadlocks and earrings.

Many of Nigeria's top footballers, including national captain Jay-Jay Okocha and star striker Nwankwo Kanu, have their hair braided. In the late 1990s, defender Taribo West had his braids dyed in the national colours.

But some football officials seem to have had enough. 

One senior football official has ordered the removal of any unacceptable braids from players' hair at an upcoming junior tournament. He says their fashion statements are not culturally acceptable and promoted homosexuality.


~

Gay couple 'driven from home'
A gay couple in Londonderry say they have been driven out of their home following a number of attacks.


In the latest incident at the weekend, golf balls and bricks were thrown at the house in the Ballymagroarty area of the city.

One of the men, who was too frightened to be identified, said he had been made to feel like a prisoner in his own home.

"The only way that people are going to do anything is when the community comes together to stand up to these people and removes them from the estate," he said.

"Nobody has the right to verbally or physically abuse or attack people or their property."


~

HRC Reveals 'Best and Worst' Companies for Gay Employees
New Report Card Shows Number of Top-Scoring Companies Doubled in Last Year


WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- The Human Rights Campaign Foundation unveiled its third annual report card on corporate America's treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, which includes 28 companies with first-ever perfect records and eight companies with the worst records. The number of companies that scored 100 percent doubled in one year to 56, the report found.

"Corporate America knows that fair treatment for employees is not just the right thing to do, it's good for the bottom line," said Cheryl Jacques, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "These aren't movie ratings. An imperfect score could mean an unfair firing or families without health care."

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's report card -- the Corporate Equality Index -- rates Fortune 500 and other major companies on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on seven key indicators of fair treatment for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. These include policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and health care benefits for employees' partners.


~

Lambda Legal Launches First National Education Campaign Aimed at Making Schools Safer for LGBTQ Youth
Knowledge of Their Rights Is a Key Factor in Keeping the Estimated 2.7 Million LGBTQ Students Safer at School


NEW YORK, Sept. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Lambda Legal, the nation's oldest and largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender legal rights advocacy organization, launches its first national youth education campaign today in an effort to make the nation's schools safer for LGBT and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

A national survey(1) of LGBTQ students found that 78% heard remarks such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently at school and that 39% had been physically assaulted at school because of their sexual orientation. Of those same students, 64% felt unsafe in their school because of their sexual orientation.

"Many of our nation's schools simply aren't safe for gay students -- we know that from the research but mostly from calls we get every day from young people all across the country," said Kevin Cathcart, Lambda Legal's Executive Director. "We've won powerful court rulings in recent years that make it absolutely clear that schools have to protect gay youth and treat them equally. This campaign is putting those court victories to work in schools nationwide by telling students what their rights are and what to do to make sure those rights are enforced."



~

Gay group challenges Swaggart tax status
Advocate staff report


A Baton Rouge gay rights organization is asking federal authorities to investigate whether Jimmy Swaggart Ministries should lose its tax-exempt status for comments the evangelist made about homosexuals.

At a news conference Tuesday, Capital City Alliance Co-Chairman Joseph Traigle announced he has asked both the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Attorney David Dugas of Baton Rouge to consider whether the ministry broke any federal tax laws.

In a Sept. 12 broadcast, Swaggart told his congregation he's "never seen a man in my life I wanted to marry. And I'm going to be blunt and plain: If one ever looks at me like that, I'm going to kill him and tell God he died."

Swaggart has since apologized and said his comments were "silly" and intended as a joke, and he is opposed to violence. A spokeswoman for Jimmy Swaggart Ministries did not return several calls to its headquarters Tuesday.


~

Lesbian given sole custody of daughter
By Associated Press


WINCHESTER, Va. — A woman who moved to Virginia with her 2-year-old daughter after the breakup of her civil union in Vermont was awarded sole custody of the child Tuesday.

The decision by Frederick County Circuit Judge John Prosser is the latest twist in a case that has resulted in conflicting decisions by courts in the two states.

Prosser gave Lisa Miller-Jenkins, 35, full custody of 2-year-old Isabella and ruled that she can decide whether to allow visitation by her former partner, Janet Miller-Jenkins.

The women were a couple in Virginia when they decided four years ago to enter into a civil union in Vermont. They then went back to Virginia and decided Lisa Miller-Jenkins would conceive a child through artificial insemination.


~

Gay-rights agency
helps teens take stand
BY LAUREN LaCAPRA
DAILY NEWS WRITER


When Becky Goldberg couldn't access the Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth Web site at Ward Melville High School, she decided to do something about it.

Goldberg, a junior at the time, was appalled that school officials blocked access to the site simply because it featured words like gay and lesbian.

"We fought for two or three months to get it unblocked," said Goldberg, now 17 and a senior. "The whole point was, we wanted it to be seen."

More and more students like Goldberg are standing up for their rights as a result of Long Island Gay and Lesbian Youth.


~

Wash. Twp. officials believe cigar store is gay sex club
By Shawn G. Menzies
smenzies@sjnewsco.com


WASHINGTON TWP. -- Township officials issued a cease and desist order against Inside Out Cigars in the Whitman Plaza, Tuesday because they suspect the business is a "gay gentlemen's lounge" based on a Web site that lists the location as a place to "cruise for sex."

"I went to the cigar store (Tuesday) and there was no answer." said Zoning officer Rose Ann Lafferty. "I called them and left a message. I put a bright orange violation notice on the door, which read that they are in violation and to see the zoning officer in the Washington Township building."