Man not guilty of transsexual's rape

A BALLARAT jury has found a 31-year-old man not guilty of raping a transsexual at her home in country Victoria in 2003.

The five-man, seven-woman jury announced its decision yesterday following a week-long trial at the County Court after the man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, contested the charge.

Jury members spent between two and three hours deliberating their verdict.

Crown prosecutor David Cordy alleged during the trial that the man had bragged about the rape to friends, revealing physical evidence he could only have known by committing the offence.

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Malden resident accuses state trooper of transgender bias

A transgender woman is alleging discrimination against a state trooper who called her "buddy" and "guy" and arrested her after she was caught speeding, flipped off the trooper, then stepped into traffic on Interstate 495.

    Clairese Renee Morgan of Malden has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination and wants troopers to go through mandatory training in transgender issues, according to Bay Windows newspaper.

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Transsexual change identity without surgery comes to life in Spain


Men who want to become woman under Spanish law could realize their dreams without surgery. The bill says transsexuals can change their gender listing and name in Spanish civil registries without undergoing surgery, but on several conditions. A doctor must certify they were born the wrong sex and have been living for an extended period under the one they want, and the person must undergo hormonal or other medical treatment to encourage the change of identity.
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Gay issues now on a Canadian school curriculum

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada's westernmost province has settled a civil rights complaint by creating a new high school course on social justice that will include sexual orientation issues.

The gay couple who filed the 1999 complaint said the new course, which will be offered as an elective for British Columbia's Grade 12 students, should help foster diversity and tolerance within the province's public schools.

Provincial Attorney General Wally Oppal said the class, which will also study race and ethnicity issues, was less controversial than it would have been in the past because of a growing acceptance of the social contributions of homosexuals.


"This is really a classic case of much ado about little or nothing," Oppal told reporters on Thursday after announcing the settlement of the complaint that had alleged the province's school curriculum discriminated against gay and lesbian students


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Struggle for gay rights in the Middle East


BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- We were filming an interview on a Beirut street with Youssef, a 21-year-old Lebanese man from a conservative Shia family.

A car slowed down. "Foufou!" the driver screamed in our direction.

"He called you foufou?" I asked. "Yes," Youssef answered. "Foufou means 'fag.'"
Youssef then told me that when he came out to his family, two of his brothers kidnapped him at gunpoint and held him
hostage in the family home for weeks. "It was their honor in the garbage," he said.

Youssef is a rarity in the Middle East. He is openly gay and says he doesn't care who knows it.

Most gays and lesbians in the region would only agree to speak to us anonymously. It took months to find willing participants. Often, we would meet in hotel lobbies and film interviews in silhouette, hiding identities and distorting voices.

Buddha govt plays morality police


Kolkata, May 30:Donning the role of the morality police, the Left Front Government has ordered that the Buladi AIDS awareness campaign — which has been running since December 2004 — be changed to omit the use of ‘‘offending’’ words and phrases.

Besides being successful, the campaign also involved government funds of over Rs 10 crore. Its reach was widespread — billboards, FM radio, TV spots, posters, community football matches and discotheques.

The government has taken the decision following objections from sections of society, including various schools and hospitals, over the use of words like ‘‘sangam’’, ‘‘condom’’ and jingles like ‘‘hum tum ek kamre me band hain’’.

Transsexual Files $4.5-Million Discrimination Suit On Two Continents


(London) An American transsexual working in the UK has filed discrimination suits against Hitachi Data Systems in both British and US courts.

When Jessica Bussert, 41, began transitioning she, the woman she married while still identifying as male and their two children, transferred from Hitachi in Indiana to the company's British operation, believing the UK to be a more tolerant society.

Bussert said she made the decision to move following the murder of a 19-year old transgendered woman in the US.
In 2004 when other workers began to comment on Bussert's long hair and other physical changes due to hormone therapy she began to let people know she was transitioning.

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New York court takes up gay marriage


NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York's highest court will consider Wednesday whether New York City can grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Attorneys for five New York City couples plan to argue that the New York State Court of Appeals should allow the city to let same-sex couples marry because of the state constitution's guarantee of "equality, liberty and privacy for all New Yorkers."

Only the state of Massachusetts allows couples of the same sex to marry, although Vermont permit civil unions which are the
equivalent to marriage in all but name. Thirty-nine states have some sort of ban on gays marrying.

Federal law denies recognition of all same-sex marriages.

The New York City couples were denied marriage licenses in 2004 and quickly took their case to the courts.

Since then, the state's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, and city Mayor Michael Bloomberg have expressed support of gay marriage, although both are required to fight the challenges in court because existing law defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

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Gay trio tries to enlist in Minnesota Guard


It was an unprecedented event at the Roseville Recruiting office of the Minnesota National Guard. Three young people showed up to enlist Tuesday morning.

"Haven and I," Jacob Reitan told assembled reporters and news cameras, "are 24 years old. We are young, fit, capable people. We both graduated in the top 10 percent of our class from some of the nation's best universities."

So, why the media fuss? Jacob, Haven Herrin and their friend, Ezekiel Montgomery are all homosexual. They planned their enlistments as a protest to the 13-year-old "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, barring openly gay personnel in the U.S. Military. It is believed to be the first time "out" young persons have tried to join here.

"To my knowledge," Major Kevin Olson of the Guard insisted, "it hasn't happened before in the Minnesota National Guard." As for tossing out revealed enlisted men and women, "Over the last two years, there's been a total of four discharges for homosexual conduct in the Minnesota National Guard."

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State should be cautious about gay rights call


THE Government has been told to be cautious about calls by the Methodist Church to amend or drop the section of the Constitution dealing with gay rights.

Fiji Womens Rights Movement executive director Virisila Buadromo said wide consultation was needed if the Government was to take such calls into consideration.

Ms Buadromo said if the Government was considering amending a section of the Constitution on gay rights under the Bill of Rights, wide consultation needed to be undertaken before any action was taken.

Transsexual Files $4.5-Million Discrimination Suit On Two Continents


(London) An American transsexual working in the UK has filed discrimination suits against Hitachi Data Systems in both British and US courts.

When Jessica Bussert, 41, began transitioning she, the woman she married while still identifying as male and their two children, transferred from Hitachi in Indiana to the company's British operation, believing the UK to be a more tolerant society.

Bussert said she made the decision to move following the murder of a 19-year old transgendered woman in the US.
In 2004 when other workers began to comment on Bussert's long hair and other physical changes due to hormone therapy she began to let people know she was transitioning.

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New York court takes up gay marriage


NEW YORK (CNN) -- New York's highest court will consider Wednesday whether New York City can grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Attorneys for five New York City couples plan to argue that the New York State Court of Appeals should allow the city to let same-sex couples marry because of the state constitution's guarantee of "equality, liberty and privacy for all New Yorkers."

Only the state of Massachusetts allows couples of the same sex to marry, although Vermont permit civil unions which are the
equivalent to marriage in all but name. Thirty-nine states have some sort of ban on gays marrying.

Federal law denies recognition of all same-sex marriages.

The New York City couples were denied marriage licenses in 2004 and quickly took their case to the courts.

Since then, the state's Attorney General, Eliot Spitzer, and city Mayor Michael Bloomberg have expressed support of gay marriage, although both are required to fight the challenges in court because existing law defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

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Gay trio tries to enlist in Minnesota Guard


It was an unprecedented event at the Roseville Recruiting office of the Minnesota National Guard. Three young people showed up to enlist Tuesday morning.

"Haven and I," Jacob Reitan told assembled reporters and news cameras, "are 24 years old. We are young, fit, capable people. We both graduated in the top 10 percent of our class from some of the nation's best universities."

So, why the media fuss? Jacob, Haven Herrin and their friend, Ezekiel Montgomery are all homosexual. They planned their enlistments as a protest to the 13-year-old "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, barring openly gay personnel in the U.S. Military. It is believed to be the first time "out" young persons have tried to join here.

"To my knowledge," Major Kevin Olson of the Guard insisted, "it hasn't happened before in the Minnesota National Guard." As for tossing out revealed enlisted men and women, "Over the last two years, there's been a total of four discharges for homosexual conduct in the Minnesota National Guard."

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State should be cautious about gay rights call


THE Government has been told to be cautious about calls by the Methodist Church to amend or drop the section of the Constitution dealing with gay rights.

Fiji Womens Rights Movement executive director Virisila Buadromo said wide consultation was needed if the Government was to take such calls into consideration.

Ms Buadromo said if the Government was considering amending a section of the Constitution on gay rights under the Bill of Rights, wide consultation needed to be undertaken before any action was taken.

Mike vows he'll honor gay marriage


Mayor Bloomberg landed another left on the right yesterday, coming out strongly in favor of gay marriage - and vowing the city will perform same-sex wedding ceremonies, if allowed.

The Republican mayor used his weekly Sunday radio address on Memorial Day weekend to say he is "firmly opposed" to any constitutional amendment outlawing same-sex marriage.

President Bush and other prominent Republicans endorse the Federal Marriage Amendment, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The measure is set for a Senate vote next month.

"The U.S. Constitution should be something that unites, rather than divides Americans," said Bloomberg, a life-long Democrat who joined the GOP to run for mayor in 2001.

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Court: Transsexual woman can't see child
 
Woman who underwent sex-change operation appeals to High Court of Justice after Rabbinic Court cancels prior alimony agreement; appeal rejected 
Tal Eitan
 
The High Court of Justice rejected Monday an appeal made by a transsexual woman who demanded to cancel a prior Rabbinic Court decision which prevents her from meeting her nine-year-old daughter.

 
The judges decided that the woman, who was born as a male and underwent a sex-change operation a few years ago, did not utilize all theavailable legal procedures to the fullest. Her lawyer, Yonatan De-Paris, vowed to study the court's decision.

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J'lem court: City must fund gay center

The Jerusalem District Court has ordered the Jerusalem Municipality to pay the city's Gay and Lesbian Center NIS 350,000 for "cultural and social activities" held by the organization over the last three years, a court spokeswoman announced Monday.
The ruling was the second legal defeat for the municipality over the contentious issue in as many years. The decision was handed down in the wake of a petition submitted by the organization against the city, which, since 2003, had stopped allocating funds for the group out of its small cultural activities budget.

from:(glbt-india) ARAVAANI [TRANSGENDER] MURDERED AT TIRUCHIRAPALLI, TAMIL NADU.

Aravaani [Transgender] Ms. Sudha was murdered at Trichy Hotel last night. It is learned that Sudha, a beautiful young aravaani was taken by a man aged about 30 to the Nathan lodge, opposite to Raja theatre, Madurai Road, Trichy and had sex with her.

At the midnight the room was not opened for a long time and the door was locked outside, the hotel staff peeped through the window on suspicion and was shocked to witness Sudha dead, bleeding in the bed and the man who accompanied was escaped. It is known that he has given bogus address in the hotel. The hotel manager immediately reported this matter to Fort Police Station, Trichy. Inspector Mr. Ravichandran and Sub Inspector Mr. Thanislaas came over there with a team of police constables, made enquires and sent Sudha's body to The Govt. Hospital, Trichy for post-mortem.


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Undignified display: Sparks fly in Senate over gay marriage legislation


Something petty -- a shouting match in the Senate Judiciary Committee last week -- nevertheless echoes strongly with a warning for any thoughtful American concerned about the temper of the times. The spat occurred as the committee considered a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

In part, the clash between Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., the committee chairman, and Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., was about a change in venue for the committee meeting.
But the overarching context was the Democratic belief -- well-founded, as it happens -- that this amendment is all about currying political favor with the Republicans' right-wing base and in the process painting Democrats as the defenders of gay marriage.

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Irish MP heckled over gay unions    

Six men, believed to be of a conservative Catholic group, threw cups of water and copies of the Irish Constitution at the Irish Justice Minister as he delivered a speech outlining his Government’s plans for same-sex civil unions on Friday.


Justice Minister Michael McDowell was addressing a law conference, held to review various countries’ laws on civil unions. Representatives of Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands – all countries that provide recognition for same-sex unions – were present at the conference.