Arson Suspected In Fatal Gay Sauna Fire


(London) A woman described as an employee has died in a fire that officials may have been deliberately set at a gay sauna in Leeds, north of London.

Police said Friday that the Spartan Matalk Sauna had been targeted in a previous arson attack. The most recent fire appears to have begun in pieces of wood placed outside the main door. Investigators said there is evidence that some sort of fuel was used to get the blaze going.


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Ghanaian gay conference banned


Ghana's government has banned a conference for gay men and lesbians due to take place there later this month.

Information Minister Kwamena Bartels said as homosexuality was illegal in Ghana the gathering was not permitted. "Government does not condone any such activity which violently offends the culture, morality and heritage of the entire people of Ghana," he said.

He warned that disciplinary action would be taken if anyone was found to have contravened the law.

The BBC's Kwaku Sakyi-Addo in the capital, Accra, says the conference was reportedly scheduled to take place on Monday at the Accra International Conference Centre and at a venue in the city of Koforidua.

Norwegian transsexual seeks two passports


A Norwegian transsexual has sought the help of Norway’s antidiscrimination office to assist her in obtaining two passports. The male-to-female transsexual, who prefers to remain anonymous, wants to travel as either a man or a woman and claims that traveling as a woman with a passport displaying a man’s face is a difficult task since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

It is “virtually impossible to travel as a woman. I therefore make a plea that these rules be liberalized such that trans-persons have the opportunity to have two passports,” she wrote in her request to the antidiscrimination office. She added that the Ministry of Justice does grant multiple passports in some cases.

Nepal Interim Constitution, Will PLWHA, and other vulnerable communiteis have rights?

Dear All

The Nepal's interim constitution have failed to ensure the rights of sexual minorities, gender minorities, PLWHA and Sex workers and provide any protection despite of our continuous lobbying and providing written recommendation to the drafting committee.

Now we its time we need to do more and we call for your support and solidarity.

Sunil Pant
Blue Dimaond Society


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City Looks Into Harrassment Of Transgender Worker

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) - Buffalo officials say they are investigating claims that a transgender City Hall employee is being harrassed on the job. The worker, Camille Hopkins, says someone left a distrubing note on her desk, and she fears for her safety. 

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California senate passes two pro-gay bills

The California senate has recently passed two pro-gay bills. The Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act would instruct the judicial council to provide instruction to jurors stating that a defendant’s bias against a person's sexual orientation or gender identity should not be considered when deciding a verdict. The bill also states that the Office of Emergency Services must create training manuals for district attorneys to address the use of so-called panic defenses in hate crimes. The panic defense, in which a defendant claims to have panicked when discovering the victim’s sexual orientation or identity, was a major factor in the case of Gwen Araujo—a transgender teen who was brutally murdered in 2002.
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Cop Commits Suicide After Performing Transgender Operation on Self


A Russian policeman has attempted suicide after performing a transgender surgery on himself. He was found with a rope around his neck in a pool of blood — his genitals had been cut off and the wound scrupulously stitched up. Painkillers and a bloody needle, as well as the remains of his genitals, were lying on the floor next to him. 

Alexei’s wife Irina, who found the man half dead in his country cottage in the suburbs of Moscow, called the ambulance immediately. The doctors managed to save his life, but said he would never be able to have sex again, Zhisn daily reports.

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BILL PROTECTING YOUTH IN CALIFORNIA PASSES SENATE


Assembly Bill 606, the Safe Place to Learn Act, authored by Assemblymember Lloyd Levine (D-Van Nuys) and sponsored by Equality California (EQCA), passed the Senate today by a 23-16 vote and will now return to the Assembly for a final vote before being presented to Governor Schwarzenegger. The bill provides guidance and direction to school districts in implementing California's existing laws regarding anti-discrimination and harassment in schools.

AB 606 provides tools for school districts to comply with the law and reaffirms that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students are protected against harassment and violence in California schools," stated Geoff Kors, EQCA's executive director.

Assembly Bill 606 creates a model antidiscrimination and harassment policy for school districts to adopt and publicize; provides that schools, during the normal course of reprinting, update all applicable publications on school safety to include information on bias-related discrimination and harassment; and ensures that schools document all complaints brought forward by students.   

Campaigning for the rights of people with HIV/AIDS!

Please sign on and try to get as many people possible to sign on to the email petition at www.tac.org.za , we must support our South African friends.

San Antonio officer on trial in rape of transsexual


SAN ANTONIO (AP) - A police officer accused of raping and beating a transsexual in his squad car is on trial in a federal court.

Forty-six-year-old Dean Gutierrez is charged with depriving a person's civil rights by committing aggravated sexual abuse while on duty. If convicted, Gutierrez faces up to life in prison.

The accuser, 23-year-old Gabriel Bernal, is expected to testify Wednesday.

Although the names of alleged sexual assault victims aren't typically used, Bernal has consented to have her name used.

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Alabama Democrats reinstate gay candidate for Legislature


MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Openly gay Patricia Todd was reinstated Saturday as the Democratic Party's nominee for a seat in the Alabama Legislature in a vote that turned more on the race of the candidates than sexual orientation.
The Alabama Democratic Party Executive Committee voted 95-87, mostly along racial lines, to reject the ruling of a subcommittee that had voted to disqualify Todd, who is white, and her black opponent, Gaynell Hendricks, in the race for the House seat from Birmingham's predominantly black District 54.