Activist speaks up for transgender equal rights
By Jiwon Lee and Alexandra Sloan, For the Daily


Jamison Green never fit in as a woman, so after several medical procedures he became male at the age of 40. Green, a transgender activist and author, was yesterday’s National Coming Out Day keynote speaker.

Green said although it is easier to come out today than ever before, there are still many barriers to equal rights for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

He emphasized the need for more progress in transgender rights because of the extra barriers they face. For instance, a member of the audience described being turned away by his primary-care physician because he asked about a sex-change operation.

Green also said under some policies, transgender people can be denied jobs, health care and custody of children.


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Vigil honors transgender shooting victim
Karl Surkan, PlanetOut Network


Approximately 130 people gathered in Minneapolis last Tuesday for a march and candlelight vigil for Tameka McCloud, a transgender youth who was shot repeatedly in the head and body at close range by a teen in the early morning hours of Wednesday, Sept. 29.

McCloud survived the attack and remains in serious condition at Hennepin County Medical Center.

Police arrested 16-year-old Carlos M. Harris shortly after the incident. Harris allegedly had a relationship with McCloud and shot her after learning that she was transgender. He has been charged in juvenile court with attempted first-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and first-degree assault.

McCloud, 19, is one of many Twin Cities young people served by District 202, a community center for LGBT youth aged 21 and under. Ben Peterson, a District 202 youth activist, felt moved to organize others after he heard about the shooting


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Kuwait sex-change case overturned
A Kuwaiti court has overturned a ruling that a 26-year-old man who underwent sex-change surgery can be officially regarded as a woman.


The landmark ruling by a lower court came after the plaintiff told of mental and physical torment since childhood due to hormonal imbalances.

The lawyer for the plaintiff, who goes by the name of Amal, said he would appeal the ruling to a higher court.

Correspondents say gender change is not seen as acceptable in Kuwait.

There is no law in Kuwait to govern sex-change cases and judges base their verdicts on their personal convictions, Agence France Presse news agency reports


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Gay rights activists fail to open dialogue with Marshall
Sari Krieger
Potomac News


As the 2005 General Assembly session approaches in January, Kirk Marusak and other Equality Prince William Members still have their gripes from last session with Prince William Delegate Robert Marshall, R-13th district.

Marshall sponsored a controversial bill, which passed the General Assembly during the 2004 session. Gay rights groups strongly opposed the bill.

HB 751 prohibits people of the same sex from entering into civil unions, partnership contracts or any arrangement "purported to bestow the benefits and obligation of marriage."

Marusak has been asking to meet with Marshall since March but has been largely ignored, he said.


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Despite First Dance's Success, Queer Groups Still Fractured
By Rachel Trager
Columbia Daily Spectator


With the lights dimmed and the music energizing, Lerner Hall's basement provided a perfect setting for students who identify themselves as bisexual, gay, transgender, and questioning to lose all inhibitions and meet and greet each other at the First Friday Dance.

The event seemed like an accomplishment for organizations that have been struggling to please Columbia's queer community for some time. Though the dance brought in a large crowd, many students still expressed dissatisfaction with Columbia's Queer Alliance.


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Judge denies he's promoting homosexual agenda


ORANGE CITY, Iowa A District Court judge who dissolved a lesbian couple's Vermont civil union defended himself against charges that he is promoting a homosexual agenda.

The judge from northwest Iowa faces an effort this fall from a group trying to vote him off the bench. Only four Iowa judges have been removed from the bench since the retention system was adopted more than 40 years ago.

Judge Jeffrey Neary first met with a group of Sioux County attorneys and others who endorsed him for retention


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First Canadian Gay and Lesbian Television Dating Series Begins Second Season.
Onlypunjab.com Correspondent


Hiltz Squared Media Group Inc. and PrideVision TV are proud to announce the return, for a second season, of the hit television dating series, Fairy Tale.

In the guise of other dating series, Fairy Tale achieves what has never before been done in Canadian television history. Individuals who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, are invited to find their perfect match while the world watches