TRANSGENDER VETERANS TO MARCH AGAIN
OIA Newswire


WASHINGTON - After assessing the success of the first Transgender Veterans March to the Wall held last May, the Transgender American Veterans Association is moving once again to gather transgender veterans in Washington, DC.

With the addition of a tour of the newly opened WWII Memorial, the March will be expanded. As with this year's tour, the 2005 March will also visit the Vietnam and Iwo Jima Memorials and will dedicate a wreath at the Tomb of the Unkowns in Arlington National Cemetery.

Fifty-five Transgender Veterans and significant others from across the country attended this year's March to the Wall. The event was also supported and witnessed by many others in the GLBTI community from Washington, D.C. and around the country.

"No one could have anticipated the tremendous success of this year's March to the Wall in bringing together so many Transgender Veterans for the first time," said Angela Brightfeather, event organizer and TAVA Special Projects Chairperson. "By honoring our past, we will be able to more effectively and emotionally gather together to create the motivation that will change our future."


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Transsexual convict sues her attorney


A transsexual serving a 20- to 40-year prison sentence for second-degree murder is suing her defense attorney, saying he did not represent her adequately in negotiations with prosecutors over a plea arrangement.

Vonlee Titlow, 37, is suing Pontiac attorney Frederick Toca Jr. in Oakland County Circuit Court, seeking $6 million in damages. Titlow was accused of helping her aunt, Billie Jean Rogers, kill Rogers' husband, Donald Rogers, in August 2000. Her aunt, according to prosecutors, promised to give Titlow money to complete her sex-change operation once Rogers was dead


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Serbia: Official silence greets homophobic poster campaign


The Serbian right-wing group, Obraz, launched an anti-gay and lesbian poster campaign across Serbia in July this year as part of their continuing homophobic activities. The posters, which bore the slogan "Better Prevention than Cure (Better safe than sorry)", were illustrated with mock road signs suggesting that same sex couples should be prohibited.

Eight LGBT groups in Serbia sent an open letter to government officials following the appearance of the posters. They demanded that the officials, including the Minister for Human and Minority Rights, make a public statement against homophobia.

They said in the letter that they were turning to the officials publicly, "for it is important not to stay silent about any kind of discrimination, including discrimination against homosexual citizens".


The groups were extremely concerned at the homophobic threats implicit in the Obraz posters. They pointed out that the Obraz campaign, by claiming that gay men and lesbians are sick, breaches the provisions of both European and international human rights conventions, and defies the stance of the World Health Organization.