ANTI-TRANSGENDER VIOLENCE REMAINS THREAT
OIA Newswire


SAN FRANCISCO - While news of this year's election and the conflict in Iraq has dominated the media, anti-transgender violence has continued to occur at the same levels set more than a decade ago. The 6th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance will be held on November 20 to honor those who might otherwise have been missed by the media, as well as to draw attention to this continuing problem.

"What we have is a long-term problem," said event founder, Gwendolyn Ann Smith. "Even if you are not hearing much about it in the media, there are still anti-transgender murders happening, and they are continuing to happen at a little more than one every month."

In response to this violence, the Transgender Day of Remembrance hopes to draw attention to this problem. The event continues to grow, with 110 locations in eight countries in 2003. Growth this year is already looking to eclipse that number.

Joining Day of Remembrance as sponsors this year are the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educators Network (GLSEN) and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which is promoting this event amongst its members. GLSEN is known for the Day of Silence, which is held in April.

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Anti-gay group plans protests
BY ELIZABETH GIBSON AND DAN MILLEROf Our Carlisle Bureau


CARLISLE - Administrators at three Cumberland County schools and a private, Christian elementary school say they won't let students be distracted by a visit from a hostile anti-gay group.

The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church notified Carlisle, Cumberland Valley and Mechanicsburg Area school districts of its plan to picket the three high schools Nov. 15 because they have groups supporting gay and bisexual students.


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Lesbian Loses Bias Claim
Employee of Billy Graham’s association fired for kissing a woman
By ARTHUR S. LEONARD


A Minnesota appeals court upheld the dismissal of a lesbian employee by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, finding that the organization qualified for a religious exemption from the state’s statutory ban on sexual orientation discrimination.

The unanimous October 19 ruling affirmed a decision by a Minneapolis trial court.
As a result, a closeted 30-year employee who slipped up once by kissing another woman in the company parking lot has no legal recourse.

Sara Thorson, who began working in the mailroom for Graham’s organization in 1971, never did work related to “development or production of evangelical media,” according to Judge Wilhelmina Wright’s opinion for the court. In her most recent position, Thorson served as the company’s bulk-mail services coordinator.


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Honduras votes to bar homosexual marriage, adoption
By Freddy Cuevas
ASSOCIATED PRESS


TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras – Honduras' congress voted Thursday to ban homosexual marriages and adoptions – a constitutional amendment that would have to be approved by a future legislature before taking effect.

The motion was approved unanimously by the 128 congressmen from five political parties. It was sponsored by Celin Discua of the governing National Party.

The modifications specify that "only matrimony between a man and a woman is valid,"
Under Honduran law, constitutional amendments must be ratified by a second elected legislature. The next begins in 2005.


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Police Told to Probe MUK Gays
The Monitor (Kampala)
Mwanguhya Charles Mpagi & Hussein Bogere
Kampala

The government yesterday directed the police to investigate reported activities of gays at Makerere University.

The Minister of Information, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo, said the government was concerned that activities of foreign funded local groups as well as individuals are threatening to undermine our values.

Butoro told journalists at Nakasero, that "police will investigate and take appropriate action against reported activities of homosexual associations such as the one reported at Makerere University," he said.

Makerere reportedly has an established association mainly for lesbians and bi-sexual students. The association runs a website,www.gayuganda.com.


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Swedish boys "more intolerant than girls"


Gender was on the agenda this week as the results of a major survey revealed that Swedish schoolgirls are more tolerant than boys.

The Living History Forum asked 10,500 students aged 14 and above how they felt about certain minority groups. The Forum's Helen Lööw told Svenska Dagbladet that the survey was carried out to help monitor and influence the attitude of youths.

The results gave researchers some cause for optimism, showing that "a majority, six out of 10, are positively disposed towards Muslims, Jews and homosexuals", as SvD put it.


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Paper pulls endorsement over ad
By DAN KANE, Staff Writer


Four years ago, when Julia Boseman successfully ran for a seat on the New Hanover Board of Commissioners, she didn't hide that she is a lesbian.

Now she's a Democratic candidate for state Senate, looking to oust Woody White, a Wilmington Republican. In the waning days of the campaign, the N.C. Republican Party has focused on Boseman's sexual orientation -- and the party's take on what she would push for as a legislator.


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Mississippi Gay Marriage Confusion 
by The Associated Press


(Jackson, Mississippi) Gov. Haley Barbour says he thinks some Mississippians are confused about a proposed state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

"A lot of people think 'It's about homosexuality and I'm against it,' so they're going to say 'No, I'm against same-sex marriage.' We've got to teach them to vote 'yes' to ban same-sex marriage," Barbour told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday.


 
Barbour and the Rev. Donald Wildmon, founder of the Tupelo-based American Family Association, are having a news conference today in Tupelo to urge people to vote for the amendment.