Cross-dressing teen barred from senior prom

GARY, Ind. -- The prom ticket was in hand: $85. The fuschia, slinky prom dress and strappy heels were ready. The whole week of giddy anticipation and pampering -- more than $200 worth of a manicure, pedicure and hair set -- was set to culminate with the grand walk into the glam ball.
But when Kevin Logan, a transgender and gay student at Gary’s West Side High School, arrived last Friday at Avalon Manor in Hobart for his prom, he was banned by Principal Diane Rouse.
That ban, according to Indiana Civil Liberties Union legal director Ken Falk, violates the First Amendment. The Logan family is mulling both a complaint with the ICLU and possible litigation.

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Gay pride proclamation stirs controversy


A cheer went up Monday when a proclamation declaring June as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Month was read aloud during the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners meeting.

The proclamation was a historic event for Jefferson County, said Kellie Ragan, who had asked the commissioners to sign the document.

“This is a first for this county,” she said. “It’s really about increasing the visibility of our community and letting folks know it’s not just about having a proclamation but it’s about having a celebration.”

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Military Discharging Two Soldiers Per Day For Being Gay Despite War Group Says

(Washington) The armed forces discharged an average of two people a day in 2005 for being openly gay a group advocating for LGBTs in the military said on Wednesday.
Citing newly released data for 2005 the  Servicemembers Legal Defense Network said the  rate of discharge has remained relatively consistent each year since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. But, it added that the numbers  represent a 40% decrease compared with years prior to the attacks.   
A total of 742 military personnel were discharged under the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on openly gay service members, up from 668 discharges among the services in 2004.

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Transsexual had right to choose female officer for strip search

Transsexuals who are strip-searched by police should be able to choose whether it's done by a male or female officer, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario ruled Wednesday.

The ruling stems from a complaint by Rosalyn Forrester, a transsexual, born as a man, who hadn't yet undergone a sex-change operation.

Forrester was strip-searched in 1999 by male police officers in Peel Region just west of Toronto. Police arrested Forrester after her common-law spouse accused her of harassment and breaching a restraining order.