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  1. #21
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    Default Re: Trans News Worldwide

    19 Apr 2018 19.23 BST
    Jim Waterson Media editor

    Mumsnet reports itself to data regulator over transgender rights row
    Parenting site confirms paid intern posted IP addresses of forum users on Twitter

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    Justine Roberts, the Mumsnet founder and chief executive, has criticised the ‘thought police’ attitude to trans rights in the UK. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian
    Mumsnet has reported itself to the UK data regulator after a former employee published the IP addresses of forum users in a dispute over transgender rights.

    The parenting site confirmed it had contacted the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and informed the police after the recently departed intern had made a series of posts on Twitter criticising Mumsnet’s stance on trans rights, accompanied by screengrabs apparently taken while she worked at the company that included private information only visible to staff.

    In a series of now-deleted posts on Twitter, Emma Healey, who was a paid intern in the site’s press office for six months, claimed that the “vast majority” of discussion of trans issues on Mumsnet “descends into scaremongering and hate speech”.

    “Whilst I was at MN [Mumsnet] (Sept 17-Mar 1, there was really no attempt to keep this discussion civil or polite,” she wrote. “Misgendering and deadnaming were completely tolerated, and the internal moderation policy would change pretty much every day.

    “There were many staff members, me included, who raised concerns about what was being said on site – but it was never taken on board. Any criticism has been dismissed as a smear attempt by ‘trans activists’ rather than actually thinking about what was being said.”

    I was mistakenly trying to do what I thought was the right thing as someone with very strong feelings on LGBTQ+ rights
    Emma Healey, former paid intern at Mumsnet
    Healey had had limited access to the personal information of registered users that was not visible to the general public.

    IP addresses are assigned to users by internet service providers and can used to ascertain the approximate location of an internet user. Although it is difficult to precisely identify an individual from their IP address without the cooperation of an internet provider, the information can be used to monitor other online activity and to corroborate other identifying information.

    Mumsnet has recently been under pressure from trans rights activists over the content on its forums, with some campaigners contacting the site’s advertisers to complain about the tone of discussions on the issue. Justine Roberts, Mumsnet’s founder and chief executive, has publicly criticised the “thought police” attitude to trans rights in the UK and said she believed it was the “right thing to do to allow this discussion to take place” on her site.

    A spokesperson for Mumsnet said Healey had now promised to delete all other Mumsnet-related material. The spokesperson said the company believed the former intern had not intended to publish the three IP addresses of forum users and had done so accidentally.

    Justine Roberts, Mumsnet’s chief executive, said: “For us this is about civilised debate and free speech. As an organisation we absolutely believe in the rights of transgender people to be safe, happy and supported. However there are parents (including some trans parents) on Mumsnet who also believe that there are some issues - such as the prescription of hormone-altering medication to young children, and the impact of gender self-identification on women-only refuges and other ‘safe’ spaces - that merit discussion.

    “We at Mumsnet have always strongly believe that robust, civilised debate is the best way to reach resolution on difficult issues. Some activists disagree with us on the merits of even having of debate and view it as transphobic in its own right.

    “Transphobia is against our guidelines and we delete and ban users who are repeat offenders; we’ve also proactively reminded our users of the importance of abiding by our rules, and will continue to do so.”

    Healey later issued a statement via Mumsnet apologising for her decision: “I was just mistakenly trying to do what I thought was the right thing as someone with very strong feelings on LGBTQ+ rights – and in doing so, I did something very misguided and frankly awful.

    “I have definitely learnt my lesson: not only about not tweeting in anger but about the language I use, being careful what I say, the power of social media and thinking about all the potential outcomes of my actions (not just the outcomes I intend). As such, I am taking some time away from social media and will return with a hopefully more mature attitude.

    “I’d like to also apologise to any users who have felt hurt, attacked or vulnerable due to my actions. I recognise that we do not agree on this issue, but I know the impact that my actions may have had on them and their mental health.”

    An ICO spokesperson said: “We are aware of a possible incident involving Mumsnet and will be looking into the details.”

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  2. #22
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    Default Re: Trans News Worldwide

    19 Apr 2018 03:49PM

    #IamGay backlash a rare win for China's LGBT community

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    Despite some progress, the LGBT community faces daunting legal and social hurdles in China AFP/STR

    BEIJING: China's gay community scored a victory after a massively popular social media platform reversed a ban on "homosexual" content, but challenges remain in a country where LGBT culture remains taboo in the entertainment industry.

    Gay-themed films struggle to make it into movie theatres, same-sex relationships are banned from television screens and gay content is forbidden on online streaming platforms.

    But the latest censorship move caused a public backlash that prompted Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like platform with 400 million active monthly users, to make a surprising about-face.

    The popular microblogging platform had abruptly announced last week that it was removing "illegal content" including "videos with pornographic implications, promoting violence or (related to) homosexuality".

    The move triggered an #IamGay campaign on the platform, with many calling for a boycott. Even the Communist Party mouthpiece, the People's Daily, posted an essay on Weibo promoting LGBT acceptance, though it cautioned that gays were not immune to censorship of porn and violence.

    "This is an incremental victory and quite a positive signal, but I also think Sina was mostly worried about its stock tanking," said Xiao Tie, director of the Beijing LGBT Center.

    "They haven't yet deleted the original notice and there's been no apology, so for us, it's still not really over - there are many challenges we still face," she added.

    Raymond Phang, co-founder of Shanghai Pride, explained that people were riled by the insensitive language of Weibo's notice.

    "It's good to clear up inappropriate material that's violent or pornographic, but the words that they used pointed to a specific community, to people rather than content. It's really disappointing coming from such a big platform," he said.

    Phang said gay content bans had previously come directly from the authorities, making it difficult to protest.

    "Sina is a listed company, so at least we had channels to make our voice heard, like contacting customer service. But in the past, what could we do? Who's going to write to the government? Which mailbox, which bureau?" he said, laughing.

    CENSORED FILM

    But a struggle continues to put homosexual content in mainstream culture.

    In 2016, government censors banned gay characters on television, with guidelines decreeing: "No television drama shall show abnormal sexual relationships and behaviours, such as incest, same-sex relationships, sexual perversion, sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual violence, and so on."

    Last year, authorities banned gay content from all online streaming platforms.

    Oscar-winning "Call Me by Your Name", the story of a summer romance between two young men in Italy, was pulled from the Beijing International Film Festival last month.

    But after a two-year delay, Chinese theatres on Friday finally released "Looking for Rohmer", a film about a secret homosexual relationship between Chinese and French lovers that has been hailed as the country's first gay movie.

    Yet the film appeared to be cut beyond recognition, to the point that it is nearly impossible to discern any romance between the two main characters, who never kiss and hardly even hold hands.

    Their love was expressed indirectly, through a fleeting, imagined performance of a scene from a Tibetan opera in which the two dance the parts of a star-crossed couple.

    The website of the International Chinese Film Festival in Sydney lists the film's running time as two hours, but the version screened in China lasts only 83 minutes.

    On Tuesday evening, only eight people had pre-purchased tickets for any screenings in central Beijing theatres.

    GAY 'CURES'

    LGBT rights face other challenges in China.

    A lack of comprehensive sex education leaves many completely uninformed about LGBT issues, particularly given deeply embedded traditional values and pressures to get married and have children.

    It also has no anti-discrimination law for gender identity and sexual orientation.

    China only decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, and withdrew it from its list of mental illnesses in 2001.

    Clinics throughout the country are still known to offer "cures" for being gay involving electroshocks, confinement and chemical castration.

    Though neighbouring Taiwan is home to vibrant gay pride parades, such festivals are limited to cultural activities or social events in the mainland, where mass mobilisations of any kind are seen as potential threats to social stability.

    Same-sex marriage remains illegal. A court in Hunan refused to grant two men the right to marry in 2016, in China's first-ever lawsuit on the issue.

    But the LGBT community has made inroads in other cases.

    A court in the southwestern province of Guizhou ruled last year that a transgender man had been illegally fired from his workplace in China's first-ever unfair dismissal case.

    And last summer, a court in central China ordered a psychiatric hospital to compensate and apologise to a gay man forced to undergo conversion therapy, two years after another tribunal condemned a different clinic offering the same kind of "cure" in the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing.

    Source: AFP/aa



  3. #23
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    Default Re: Trans News Worldwide

    April 19, 2018

    Breaking Stereotypes, Transsexual Couple To Tie Knot In Kerala

    Ishan and Surya are now all set to break several stereotypes in the society and set an example as the first transsexual couple to marry in Kerala.

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    Ishan and Surya would be the first transsexual couple from Kerala to tie the knot. (File photo)

    THIRUVANATHAPURAM: He was a 'woman' and she was a 'man' once and ostracised by their families and harassed by the society over their transgender status for long. But, Ishan and Surya are now all set to break several stereotypes in the society and set an example as the first transsexual couple to marry in Kerala, having undergone sex change surgeries some years ago.

    As every ordinary man and woman, they will be marrying in an auspicious ceremony at an auditorium here on May 10, with the blessings and support of family members and friends.

    Religious barriers and societal stigma has not deterred the transgender couple, in their 30s, from their decision to enter wedlock and lead a normal life.

    A known TV artist, Surya said she had always cherished the dream of becoming a bride like any other woman. "We both have suffered a lot over our gender. We were excluded and marginalised by the society once," she told PTI.

    "But, now, everyone is starting to accept us. I hope, this marriage will help us getting more acceptance in the family and society," she said.

    Hailing from a middle class family in Vattiyurkkavu here, Surya underwent the sex change surgery and became a woman in the year 2014.

    The 31-year-old transwoman said she had been living separately from her family for some years as her parents and siblings could not accept her choice of gender.

    The story of 33-year-old Ishan, a member of a conventional Muslim family at Vallakkadavu, is also not different.

    He said he met Surya while working in an NGO engaged in the welfare of transgenders.

    Ishan said he had to suffer a lot to make his family and community understand his gender issues. A woman before, he underwent the sex reassignment surgery three years ago.

    "I proposed Surya and conveyed my wish to marry her. I was particular that it should be a legal marriage and we want to live a normal life like any other couple," he told PTI.

    The transsexual couple is excited as both families have given their nod for the marriage and promised all support.

    "We are trying to set a model to our fellows transgender and prove that we can also live a normal life like any others in the society," they said.

    Both Surya and Ishan are members of the government's Transgender's Justice Board.

    According to unofficial figures, there are over 35,000 transgenders in Kerala, which unveiled the country's first transgender policy in 2015.



  4. #24
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    Default Re: Trans News Worldwide

    19/04/2018 Newshub staff

    Joe Rogan blasts Kiwi weightlifter Laurel Hubbard in rant on transgender athletes

    US comedian and martial arts commentator Joe Rogan has once again taken aim at Kiwi athletes on his podcast - this time targeting Kiwi transgender weightlifter Laurel Hubbard.
    The podcast host drew derision last year after labelling the Tall Blacks "stupid" and "f**king dummies" for performing a haka at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2014.

    Now The Joe Rogan Experience - which is one of the most popular podcasts in the US - has turned its attention to Hubbard, who competed at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast earlier this month.

    During a debate about whether male-to-female transgender athletes should be allowed to compete against other females, Rogan pointed to Hubbard as an example of where such competition proves problematic.

    "When transgender athletes go into weightlifting competitions, the male-to-female transgender athletes are overwhelmingly dominant," he said.

    "I mean, is this a coincidence? No! It's someone who's had f**king testosterone pumping through their system and a Y chromosome their whole life.

    "Now all of a sudden we're supposed to say, 'No, she's a woman; she's dainty'.

    "She's got size 14 feet! She's got gorilla hands! What in the f**k are we doing here?"

    The remark came after one of his guests, British activist Maajid Nawaz, mentioned Hubbard's appearance at the Commonwealth Games.

    "The only reason [the debate about Hubbard competing at the Games] didn't lead to crunch time was because she injured herself in the competition by sheer accident," he said.

    Earlier in the podcast, Rogan explained that while he is all for people being legally recognised as a gender that doesn't match their biological sex, he thinks sport should treat the issue differently.

    He referenced the heavy criticism he faced after vocally opposing MMA fighter Fallon Fox when she was permitted to compete against cisgender women after transitioning from male to female.

    "I've actually gone through this extensively," he explained, "because there was a woman who used to be a man and was competing in mixed martial arts against women and beating the shit out of them.

    "I was saying 'this is a mistake'.

    "You can't deny biological nature. There's physiological advantages to the male frame."

    New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Kereyn Smith has continually maintained that Hubbard should be allowed to compete.

    "She meets all CGF, IF, NZOC and OWNZ criteria for selection and participation and is within the IOC Guidelines that have been designed to balance an individual's right to compete while ensuring a fair field of play," she told Newshub during the competition.

    Newshub.



  5. #25
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    Default Re: Trans News Worldwide

    16th April 2018

    'Do NOT approach her' Police warn over transgender woman missing from hospital

    COPS have warned the public not to approach a transgender woman who went missing from Ealing Hospital in London.

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    APPEAL: Cops are searching for this missing transgender woman Andre Kirlew

    Andre Kirlew was last seen at 6.30pm on Thursday in the hospital's Costa shop.

    The Met Police said she suffers from bipolar, paranoid schizophrenia and should not be approached by members of the public

    She is described as black, slim build, 6ft tall and wearing a red wig down to her waist.

    Andre is known to frequent the W13 area – roughly between the Northfields and Perivale tube stations - and local parks in London.

    At the time of her disappearance she was wearing a short orange and blue skirt and a thin brown leather jacket.

    She is also wearing heavy make up with blue eye shadow, bright blue contact lenses with thick black framed glasses without lenses inside.

    Officers are increasingly concerned for her wellbeing and would urge anyone with information on her whereabouts to call police on 101 or Missing People on 116000 quoting CAD 7278/12APR18.


    Last edited by smalltownguy; 04-20-2018 at 12:28 PM.

  6. #26
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    April 12, 2018

    Defense chief says he is 'prepared to defend' new transgender military policy

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    Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis testifies during a House Committee on Armed Services hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 12, 2018.

    CARLOS BONGIOANNI/STARS AND STRIPES

    WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has faced controversy over a military policy on transgender recruits recently released, said Thursday that he is prepared to defend the new plan.

    But Mattis also told the House Armed Services Committee that he will defer to the courts’ direction on the matter for now.

    The comments are among the latest from a Pentagon official since the White House said last month that it intends to at least partially ban transgender people from serving in the military. Pentagon officials have mostly dodged questions on the matter, pointing to several ongoing court cases allowing transgender servicemembers to continue to serve.

    “It’s a highly charged issue from some people’s perspective and it’s under litigation right now,” Mattis said during the congressional hearing. “Current policy stays in effect… as directed by the courts and I have submitted to the president what I think is the best military advice.”

    The hearing, which was part of Mattis’ wide-ranging testimony before the House committee, was part of an exchange with Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., who rejects the proposal. Speier questioned the proposal’s lack of input from medical groups, which refuted its conclusions and said there were no valid medical reasons for the exclusions.

    Speier also held up a photograph of Air Force Sgt. Logan Ireland, a transgender servicemember who was named noncommissioned officer of the quarter during a deployment to Afghanistan.

    “You rolled out this new policy and now you are basically saying ‘I’m not prepared to defend it,’” Speier said.

    Mattis rejected Speier’s claim. Mattis said officials looked at enlistment standards and gave a recommendation that troops who do not have gender dysphoria should be allowed to serve.

    Under former President Barack Obama’s last Defense Secretary Ash Carter, the Pentagon opened military service to all transgender people in June 2016, largely based on a study that it commissioned from the think tank Rand Corp. The organization estimated there were between 4,000 and 12,000 transgender troops on active duty and in the reserves.

    In Mattis’ recommendation, released publicly in a 48-page document last month alongside the White House announcement on March 23, the defense secretary proposed banning any individuals from serving who have a history or diagnosis of gender dysphoria except in certain cases.

    “I’m prepared to defend it. But out of respect for the courts, I do not intrude,” Mattis told Speier. “It was the best military advice I could derive from civilian overseers and military personnel.”

    Across the Capitol Hill complex Thursday, Army officials testified before a Senate committee that they had not seen any issues with unit cohesion as a result of open transgender service.

    “Nothing has percolated up to my level,” Army Secretary Mark Esper testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    Gen. Mark Milley, Army chief of staff, echoed the remarks during questions from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., on whether there were impacts on unit cohesion.

    “Not at all. We have a finite number. We know who they are and it is monitored very closely, because I am concerned about that, and I want to make sure they are treated with dignity and respect,” Milley said. “I have received precisely zero reports of issues of cohesion, discipline, morale and all those sorts of things.”

    In reaction to the exchange, Palm Center Director Aaron Belkin said Milley’s remarks were significant.

    “It is telling for the Army chief of staff to acknowledge there have been ‘zero’ problems with cohesion, discipline or morale just weeks after a DoD report, ostensibly based on months of research, insisted that transgender troops pose a risk to cohesion, discipline and morale,” Belkin said in a statement.

    Stars and Stripes reporter Corey Dickstein contributed to this report



  7. #27
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    12 APRIL 2018

    Radical feminist warned to refer to transgender defendant as a 'she' during assault case

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    Maria Maclachlan, who was giving evidence against Tara Wolf

    A radical feminist has been warned by a judge to refer to the transgender defendant as a “she” during an assault case.

    Maria Maclachlan, 61, was giving evidence against Tara Wolf, 26, whom she claims tried to attack her at a rally, knocking her to the floor.

    She told Hendon Magistrates' Court: "A hooded figure suddenly ran at me, ran past me from left to right, knocking the camera from my hand.

    "They swatted it. Although it was knocked out of my hand it was caught by the strap so it didn't hit the ground, which I thought was the intention."

    District Judge Kenneth Grant warned Ms MacLachlan to refer to Miss Wolf as “she” while giving evidence.

    He said: "The defendant wished to be referred to as a woman, so perhaps you could refer to her as 'she' for the purpose of the proceedings."

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    Tara Wolf arrives at the court with supporters. CREDIT: JULIAN SIMMONDS

    Ms MacLachlan replied: "I'm used to thinking of this person who is a male as male."

    The row was the latest in an ongoing battle between Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERFs), who believe that transwomen should not be given the same rights as those born female, and transgender activists.

    The two factions have repeatedly clashed over the issue of men who “self-identify” as female and are allowed in women-only spaces and take on roles reserved for women.

    The group of radical feminists, including Ms Maclachlan, had gathered at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park last September to discuss changes to the Gender Identity Act which will make it easier for people to define their gender themselves.

    Transgender activists were holding a counter demonstration when the two groups clashed and Ms MacLachlan, who describes herself as a "gender critical feminist," was allegedly punched.

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    Supporters of Ms MacLachlan outside court CREDIT: JULIAN SIMMONDS

    She was filming a group who were chanting "When TERFs attack, we strike back" and claimed she simply thought she might get some "amusing footage".

    Ms Maclachlan has admitted that following the event she sent out a tweet featuring a close-up of the defendant's face with the words: "Hiya, got any hair restorer while I'm in hiding? Love Tara."

    Miss Wolf, who faces one charge of assault by beating, admitted being involved in the fracas but insists she was acting in self-defence.

    She said Ms Maclachlan was shaking her partner "like a rag doll" when she struck her.

    She described the event as a hate rally and said the fight broke out because she feared Ms MacLachlan planned to out her as transgender online.

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    Tara Wolf arrives at the court with supporters. CREDIT: JULIAN SIMMONDS

    "Terfs have a history of taking people's pictures and posting them in pages like GenderIdentityWatch.com, a database that makes us a target for the far-right," she told the court.

    "(The complainant) was trying to get people's faces. She was filming the argument that was going on between the two groups."

    Ms Maclachlan argued that she was not even aware the group were trans, saying she thought they were all male.

    "They were not easily perceived as trans. I don't mind going though them face-by-face if you want to argue the toss," she said.

    "When I started filming I didn't have any particular intention of what I might do with the footage. I might have shown it to my husband, I might have posted it on my Facebook page, or I might have uploaded it on my blog."

    She denied she was trying to make the protesters feel "scared, uncomfortable or unsafe".

    Wolf admitted posting on Facebook ahead of the event: "I wanna f*** up some terfs. They're no better than fash (fascists)."

    She claimed she made the comment out of bravado and wanted to protest peacefully.

    The trial is due to last two days.



  8. #28
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    April 16, 2018

    Constitutional milestone on transgender rights

    For the first time in any court, a federal judge in Seattle has ruled that transgender people are entitled to the fullest protection of the Constitution against discrimination. U.S. District Judge Marsha J. Pechman issued that ruling Friday in a case involving President Trump’s move to bar almost all transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, but the decision would also apply to other kinds of discrimination claims by transgender people.

    In doing so, the judge refused an Administration request to lift a temporary order she had issued in December barring enforcement of the ban that was first announced last July by President Trump in a Twitter message that caught the U.S. military by surprise. The ban was designed to undo completely a policy that the Obama Administration had adopted, permitting transgender individuals to join or continue serving in the military.

    “Any attempt to exclude them from military service will be looked at with the highest level of care” by the courts, Judge Pechman wrote.

    Other judges around the country have issued rulings giving transgender people some protection under the Constitution or under federal laws barring discrimination based on sex or gender, but no judge before the Seattle jurist had taken the broad next step of designating transgender individuals as a class of people entitled to full legal protection against government policy that discriminates against them. (A transgender person is one who is assigned a biological gender at birth but who, in growing up, comes to develop the opposite gender identity.)

    Judge Pechman reached her historic ruling on the level of constitutional protection with two conclusions.

    First, she ruled that transgender people have long been the targets of discrimination based on their gender identity, that their identity is something basic to their human character rather than a personal choice, that they are fully capable of functioning in society, and that they lack political power sufficient to protect themselves against bias. That meant she had designated them as what technically is called a “suspect class” – not because their identity stirs suspicion, but because that identity is so basic to them that any official policy that treats them less favorably is “suspect” under the Constitution’s guarantees of equality and due process.

    Second, the judge said this designation entitles transgender people to have official forms of discrimination against them judged in court by “strict scrutiny” – the toughest test that government policy must meet in order to survive as constitutionally valid. Under that test, a government policy challenged as discriminatory will be struck down unless it is proven to serve a “compelling government interest” and is “narrowly tailored” to do so.

    Judge Pechman’s decision almost certainly will be appealed by the Administration, since it argued strenuously before her that the transgender policy is entirely constitutional and should now be cleared for enforcement.

    The constitutional result for transgender people of the new ruling, if it withstands an appeal, would be that they would get the same constitutional protection that covers people who face discrimination based on their race or national origin. And it is a slightly higher level of protection than protects people who face discrimination based on their sex as a man or as a woman.

    Although the judge will now apply that test to the military’s transgender ban, she will consider doing so only after she gets more facts about how the policy was adopted. Added facts, she said, will be necessary for her to determine whether the policy was adopted sincerely to serve the military’s mission, so that the judge should defer to the military choice. Further facts, she also said, would be necessary for her to determine – even if she were to defer to some degree to the military – whether the ban actually fails the constitutional test.

    The latest version of the ban, the judge noted, only emerged from the Pentagon in March, and the individuals and groups challenging the ban thus have not yet had a chance to contest the new data on how the policy was fashioned.

    The further review, Judge Pechman said, will help her decide whether the Pentagon’s “deliberative process – including the timing and thoroughness of its study and the soundness of the medical and other evidence it relied upon – is of the type to which courts typically should defer.”

    The judge voiced some skepticism about the Pentagon’s arguments, saying they were “strikingly similar” to the justifications that the military previously had put forward to defend racial segregation in the military, the former ban on gays in the military, and the longtime ban – only recently relaxed — against allowing women to serve in combat roles in the military.

    Because the case will now go on in her court, the judge ruled, she would not remove the prior temporary order she had issued against enforcement. That order will apply to military and civilian government officials, but not to President Trump personally, she decided.

    Even so, the judge denied the Administration request to remove the President from any part in the case from here on, concluding that he was sufficiently involved in instituting the ban and reinforcing it that an ultimate ruling against its constitutionally would apply to him, too.

    The judge ordered lawyers for the Administration and for those individuals and groups challenging the ban to continue exchanging information about the case and to prepare for a full trial of the two issues still before her – whether to defer to the military and, even if she does defer to some degree, whether the ban is unconstitutional as a form of discrimination against a protected class of people: transgender individuals seeking to join the military or seeking to remain in the ranks.

    Because Judge Pechman serves on a federal trial court, the first level of the federal judiciary, her ruling on the enforcement restriction could now be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, as could her later ruling on the constitutionality of the ban.

    Across the country, three other federal trial judges have also temporarily barred enforcement of the ban, on grounds narrower than those applied by Judge Pechman. But so far no federal appeals court has ruled on those orders.

    Because the Trump Administration has a keen interest in the military ban, and because the challengers are also keen on pursuing their legal contests against it, the controversy is likely to reach the Supreme Court, perhaps sooner rather than later.



  9. #29
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    Default Re: Trans News Worldwide

    Awesome news from around the world, and then the US with fucking Trump is of course out here trying to discriminate. History is not going to look on this era of America well.


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    Default Re: Trans News Worldwide

    20 Apr 2018

    Top Military Brass at Odds with Mattis on Transgender Issues

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    In this July 29, 2017, photo transgender U.S. Army Capt. Jennifer Sims is silhouetted on a balcony after an interview with The Associated Press in Beratzhausen near Regensburg, Germany. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

    Top military leaders have gone public in the past week to disagree with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on the possible erosion of "unit cohesion" and readiness that Mattis said might come from allowing transgender troops to serve openly in the ranks.

    The latest to come forward was Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey.


    "We haven't heard" of any problems with unit cohesion since transgender troops were cleared to serve under the Obama administration in 2016, Dailey said at an off-camera session with Pentagon reporters Friday.

    In addition, "I have received no formal reports" on dissension in the ranks or morale problems caused by the presence of transgender troops, Dailey said.

    Army Secretary Mark Esper, who joined Dailey at the briefing, also said that transgender troops currently serving have not been a problem in terms of unit cohesion or other issues.

    Esper then cut short the discussion, citing the ongoing cases in four federal district courts that have indefinitely blocked the Pentagon from acting against transgender individuals currently serving, or barring the recruitment and retention of transgender individuals.

    In his memo to President Donald Trump last month effectively supporting a ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, Mattis cited the difficulties of reconciling gender dysphoria with military service.

    Gender dysphoria has been defined as the conflict between a person's biological sex and the gender with which that person identifies psychologically and emotionally.

    Those with gender dysphoria "could undermine readiness, disrupt unit cohesion, and impose an unreasonable burden on the military that is not conducive to military effectiveness and lethality," Mattis said in the memo that summarized a six-month internal study he ordered.

    The study followed several tweets sent out by Trump last summer in which he argued for a ban on transgender military service.

    "After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow [transgender individuals] to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," Trump said in a tweet last July.

    The Pentagon study backing up Trump included input from the service chiefs, according to Mattis, but those same chiefs have since clearly stated that they've had no problem with transgender individuals in their ranks.

    Last Thursday, as Mattis was before the House Armed Services Committee supporting an effective ban, on transgender troops, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

    "No, not at all," Milley said when asked by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, whether transgender troops posed a problem for unit cohesion.

    In testimony before SASC on Thursday, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and Gen. Robert Neller, the Marine Commandant, also said they have seen no discipline, readiness or unit cohesion problems arising from having transgender individuals serve openly.

    "I am not aware of any issues," Richardson said. He said the Navy applied lessons learned from integrating women sailors into submarines in adapting to transgender sailors. He said that maintaining a "standards-based approach seems to be the key to success."

    Neller said he had met with several Marines and sailors who have identified as transgender individuals. "I learned about their desire to serve," he said. "As long as they can meet the standard of what their particular occupation was, I think we'll move forward."

    Adm. Paul Zukunft, the Coast Guard Commandant, said the Coast Guard has no problems with allowing transgender individuals to serve openly.

    Zukunft told the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee Wednesday that he has a transgender individual on his personal staff.

    "We are certainly committed to their continued service in the United States Coast Guard," he said.

    The top leaders' open disagreement with Mattis underlined the potential difficulties he will have in enforcing a ban if the courts permit it.

    "The Secretary is in an untenable situation," said Matt Thorn, executive director of the OutServe-SLDN advocacy group. “[Mattis] is in an untenable situation because of the president of the United States.”

    Federal District Court judges in Seattle, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Riverside, California, have all blocked the transgender ban and ordered the military to continue recruiting and retaining transgender individuals.

    In the Seattle case (Karnoski v. Trump), Judge Marsha Pechman earlier this week ordered Justice Department and advocacy group lawyers to prepare for trial but gave notice that the government will have a high standard to meet in proving that a ban is constitutional.

    "Because transgender people have long been subjected to systemic oppression and forced to live in silence, they are a protected class," Pechman wrote in her ruling. "Therefore, any attempt to exclude them from military service will be looked at with the highest level of care."



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