Trans News Worldwide

[smalltownguy]

May 2, 2018

This Transgender Teen Is Compared ‘Every Day’ to Victoria Beckham

Victoria Beckham

AS many Spice Girls fans know, no one can replace Victoria Beckham. The 44-year-old is one-of-a-kind, a fashion icon, and has defined what it means to be posh. But like any influential pop culture figure, the singer-turned-designer has her fair share of doppelgängers and her latest might be her most uncanny yet. Ruby Corder, a transgender teen from Arlesey, United Kingdom, looks so much like the mom of four that she hears comparisons to her “every day.”

Ruby Corder,

In an interview with Daily Mail, Corder, who is 18 and came out as transgender a year ago, revealed that she began hearing more comparisons to Beckham when she started experimenting with makeup a few years ago. After the teen became better at doing her own makeup, including contouring her decolletage to create the illusion of breasts, the look-alike comparisons escalated.

[smalltownguy]

MAY 03, 2018

Campaign launches battle to defeat repeal of transgender protections

JONATHAN WIGGS/GLOBE STAFF

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said transgender advocates and their allies will need to “build understanding about transgender people and fight deceptive and hateful claims” in order to defeat a ballot measure this fall.
By Stephanie Ebbert GLOBE STAFF MAY 03, 2018

Evoking memories of California voters repealing gay marriage through Proposition 8 a decade ago, transgender advocates are encouraging their allies not to be complacent this November when transgender rights are tested on the Massachusetts ballot.

“No one thought that California would vote to revoke marriage equality. But they did,” said Kasey Suffredini, co-chair of the Freedom for All Massachusetts campaign.

Coordinators kicked off their campaign on Thursday, announcing that they have enlisted more than 1,000 partners in their coalition defending transgender rights from repeal. They include Harvard Pilgrim, Google and Eastern Bank, as well as sports teams — the Bruins, Red Sox, Celtics, Patriots, and Revolution.

On the opposing side is the Keep MA Safe campaign, led by some of the same forces that fought the legalization of gay marriage in Massachusetts more than a decade ago. The referendum they got onto the ballot in November asks voters to repeal the state’s 2016 law protecting transgender people from discrimination in public accommodations. And that makes Massachusetts ground zero in the latest round of the nation’s culture wars.

“The eyes of the nation are here on Massachusetts,” said Mason Dunn, executive director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition and the cochair of the Freedom for All campaign. “We have the unfortunate designation of being the first state to ever put transgender rights on the ballot for a popular vote. What happens here will have far-reaching implications across America.”

House Speaker Robert A. DeLeo said the coalition will need to do what the House did in 2015 and 2016 – “to build understanding about transgender people and fight deceptive and hateful claims.”

“We cannot lose this vote,” added DeLeo. “We can’t go backwards. We have to show the world what Massachusetts stands for.”

Suffredini noted that the coalition might also have to battle some ballot confusion in November, letting their allies know which way to vote on the somewhat counterintuitive question.

A “yes” vote preserves transgender antidiscrimination protections.

A “no” vote is a vote to repeal them.

And that’s not the only confusion around the issue. Even DeLeo, who was lauded for championing the original antidiscrimination bill in the House, bungled his pronouns at the campaign kickoff.

In trying to praise Suffredini, a transgender man who was an LGBTQ advocate on Beacon Hill before transitioning, he initially thanked “her” for “her support and advice.”

Then he quickly edited himself. “Kasey, he has been just an unbelievable friend.”

Stephanie Ebbert can be reached at Stephanie.Ebbert@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @StephanieEbbert

[smalltownguy]

4th May 2018

Caitlyn Jenner to give lecture on transgender issues in the House of Commons

US reality TV star and transgender rights campaigner Caitlyn Jenner is to address the House of Commons about trans rights.

The lecture, part of Channel 4’s diversity lecture series, will address issues around gender and transphobia. 
Jenner, 68, will in the footsteps of the actors Idris Elba and Riz Ahmed who have previously spoken about their experiences of being ethnic minority and working class.

A spokesman for the channel said: “The aim of the Channel 4 diversity lecture is to raise awareness and stimulate public debate about diversity issues.

“Caitlyn Jenner is one of the most high-profile transgender people in the world and her transition brought transgender issues into the mainstream, helping to stimulate debate and increase awareness.”

The lecture comes at the start of the broadcaster’s Genderquake season, two weeks of programmes which they hope will “open up the debate on gender.”

Jenner has proved a controversial choice among some to give the talk.

The registered Republican has been an outspoken supporter of US President Trump since he was elected – despite him pursuing a string of policies curbing trans people’s rights.

Caitlyn Jenner

Jenner ignored warnings from her transgender friends and supported Donald Trump and Mike Pence in 2016, insisting she would not be a “single issue” voter and claiming she could help influence the GOP on LGBT rights. 

Jenner later tweeted: “Trump administration’s latest in a string of attacks on trans people: trans students, trans service members, & now employment protections for trans workers.

“This systematic gutting of non-discrimination protections for trans people is a disgrace!”

Last year she forced to turn down a transgender activism award, following anger and demands that it be rescinded from activists.

The award was from St. John’s Well Child & Family Center, a network of community healthcare centres in Los Angeles.

Jenner had been criticised by many LGBT activists due to her controversial support of anti-LGBT politicians including Ted Cruz and Trump.

[smalltownguy]

May 04, 2018

TN Transgender Wins Miss Koovagam Pageant

Villupuram (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 04 (ANI): Mobina, a transgender from Chennai who won Miss Koovagam pageant, has thanked everyone after bagging the title.

She told ANI, "I see news about me on newspapers and TV. I am really happy. I want to thank my community, family, friends and workplace."

Meanwhile, Preethi from Chennai bagged the second position while Subashree from Erode came third.

The 18-day Koovagam festival saw contestants traveling 30 km for the main event on Tuesday.

At Koothandavar temple, they re-enacted a Mahabharata episode, wherein Lord Krishna took the avatar of Mohini, marries Aravan, the son of Arjuna.

The fest concluded after the priests, after the priests of Koothandavar temple broke the bangles and untied "thalis" worn by transgenders symbolically turning them into widows. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)

[smalltownguy]

MAY 4, 2018

New Hampshire Passed A Bill Protecting Transgender People

New Hampshire is on its way to becoming the 20th state with explicit civil rights protections for transgender and gender non-conforming people. On Wednesday, the state Senate passed House Bill 1319, which would add gender identity to the state's existing anti-discrimination laws.
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu signaled he intends to sign the bipartisan legislation.
HB1319 would prohibit discrimination against people based on their gender identity in public spaces, the workplace, and housing. These protections already exist to shield people against discrimination based on their sex, religion, race, and sexual orientation. If Sununu signs HB1319 into law, the protections would automatically extend to transgender and gender non-conforming folks.
“New Hampshire’s leaders are demonstrating that nondiscrimination protection is not — and should never be — a partisan issue. From Alaska to New Hampshire, Republicans and Democrats are coming together to support all people,” Zeke Stokes, vice president of programs at GLAAD, said in a statement. “Gov. Sununu has said he is inclined to sign the measure, and it’s critical that he do so in order to ensure that everyone in New Hampshire has access to the same freedoms and protections under the law.”
New Hampshire is the last state in New England to put in place explicit anti-discrimination protections for transgender people.
Freedom New Hampshire, a local LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, celebrated the win on Twitter. The group wrote: "We did it! The NH Senate just voted 14-10 to pass #TransBillNH! This is a huge victory for freedom-loving people everywhere — especially the #transgender Granite Staters who have fought so hard for nearly a decade to make this happen."

[smalltownguy]

May 04, 2018

Chhattisgarh Government to Recruit Transgender in Police Force

Police (Representational Image/ Photo Credit: PTI)

Raipur, May 04: In order to promote gender equality, the Chhattisgarh government has decided to recruit transgender in the police force. The state police have started conducting workshops to facilitate applications from transgender. With this step, Chhattisgarh has become the first Indian state to do so.

The applicants are happy with the decision and have been propping up at the police parade ground here. They would be recruited under similar guidelines as other two genders.

"Just like other genders, we too wish to serve for the betterment of our country. We are happy with the decision of the state government and will leave no stone unturned to clear tests," said Divya, who is training with other transgender in the state capital to enter the police force.

Another aspirant, Sakshi, said, "Earlier we were afraid of the transgender community. We were told to stay away from them. However, now when we got to know them closely, we have realised that they are similar to us." In 2014, the Supreme Court declared transgender people as the third gender and ruled that they have equal privilege over the fundamental rights.

[smalltownguy]

May 2, 2018

NATIONAL Gus Kenworthy, Joy Reid, transgender troops

Joy Reid
Gus Kenworthy

Following his refusal to attend the Winter Olympian visit at the White House, Gus Kenworthy announced he will attend the Democratic National Committee's ( DNC's ) annual LGBTQ gala as a "special guest" June 25 in New York City, the DNC announced. Last year, the resources raised from the gala went to critical investments in races and state parties, which helped elect Ralph Northam in Virginia, Doug Jones in Alabama and helped flip control of the Washington state Senate, enabling the now-Democratic-controlled state government to ban conversion therapy earlier this year. The LGBTQ gala began in 1999 as a small dinner held by Andy Tobias, former DNC Treasurer, and has grown to one of the DNC's biggest and most successful events.
The Daily Beast will suspend future columns from Joy Reid due to the fallout over anti-gay comments she made on an old blog a decade ago, TheWrap reported. Although she apologized for content on her old blog The Reid Report back in December, the MSNBC host has denied the latest revelations reported by Mediaite, saying that her the long defunct website was hacked. Things continued to spiral for Reid—and MSNBC—over the story, which has now moved beyond the revelations reported by Mediaite to whether Reid was being honest about claims of hacking. On April 28, Reid opened her show on MSNBC with a mea culpa about past homophobic remarks and admitted cybersecurity experts haven't been able to prove her former blog was hacked.

Six former U.S. surgeons general have signed a statement disputing Defense Department assertions about the medical fitness of transgender troops, according to a Palm Center press release. Former U.S. Surgeons General M. Joycelyn Elders and David Satcher originally released the statement last month� in response to a Pentagon proposal to reinstate the transgender ban. In part, the letter ( with Elders, Satcher, Richard Carmona, Regina Benjamin, Vevek Murthy and Kenneth P. Moritsugu as signees ) says, "We underscore that transgender troops are as medically fit as their non-transgender peers and that there is no medically valid reason—including a diagnosis of gender dysphoria—to exclude them from military service or to limit their access to medically necessary care."

Washington, D.C., police homicide detectives learned from at least two witnesses that a 35-year-old District man arrested for the March 24 shooting death of gay D.C. resident Sean Anderson, 48, was invited by Anderson to Anderson's apartment on the night of the murder to have sex in exchange for crack cocaine, The Washington Blade reported. Jerome Wilson has been charged with second-degree murder while armed in connection with Anderson's death. A Superior Court judge ordered Wilson held without bond and scheduled a preliminary hearing for the case for May 18.

Funeral services were recently held for Crae Pridgen Jr., 53, who attracted nationwide attention as an outspoken witness in the 1993 Mickey Ratz assault case ( involving a downtown Wilmington, North Carolina, gay bar ), StarNewsOnline.com reported. Pridgen died March 2 at Florida Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He had been an outspoken witness against three Camp Lejeune Marines over a Jan. 30, 1993, incident at Mickey Ratz, a private club. In April 1993, District Judge Jacqueline Morris-Goodson acquitted the Marines on assault charges, after six days of testimony.

Joe Watts—a figure who was the king of Houston gay theater from the early 1980s to the 2000s—died March 12 after a battle with cancer at age 76, the Houston Chronicle reported. In 1985, during an extremely anti-gay period in Houston's history when many gays were deep in the closet, he founded one of the city's first gay theater companies, The Group Theater. Later, in the mid-1990s, he went on to found another queer theater ensemble, Theatre New West, in Montrose.

Hawaii lawmakers approved a ban on so-called "gay conversion therapy" treatments conducted on minors, Hawaii News Now reported. LGBT-rights advocates say the practice—largely discredited by healthcare professionals—does more harm than good to those who are subjected to it. Several states, including California, Oregon and New Jersey, have already passed similar laws; Maryland passed legislation banning the practice in April. Hawaii is now the 12th state to ban the practice.

Journalist Thomas Roberts has announced plans to make a $25,000 donation to the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC )—indirectly from President Donald Trump, The Washington Blade reported. While accepting HRC's Leadership & Visibility Award at its Maryland Summit recently, Roberts reminded the audience that he emceed the 2013 Miss Universe competition in Moscow. The former MSNBC anchor explains that he decided to host the event, "because I wanted people to know that members of the LGBTQ community are not a threat to you." His appearance earned him $25,000, but Roberts announced he wants to donate the money to HRC.

An Indiana pizzeria that came under scrutiny several years ago for refusing to cater gay weddings has shut down—possibly for good, Gay Star News reported. According to the South Bend Tribune, a sign posted on Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Indiana, indicated it closed sometime in March. Owners Kevin and Crystal O'Connor stated their restaurant would never cater a same-sex wedding; their position came in support of the state's Freedom Restoration Act. After receiving backlash, the spot temporarily closed its doors; however, after a cash infusion, it reopened. Now, reportedly, the owners want to retire.

Houston doctor Joseph Varon said he has witnessed discrimination in every corner of the medical profession—from doctors and nurses, in clinics and hospitals, and in teaching environments, Outsmart Magazine noted. The ally said this discrimination has been particularly flagrant toward LGBTQ patients—a fact that gnawed at him. Varon proceeded to design a 30-question anonymous survey and send it to 12,000 professionals; he said, "Roughly one in five reported treating homosexuals differently from straight patients, based on their moral or religious beliefs. That's 20 percent." Varon presented the preliminary results of his survey at the fall annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in Toronto.

The Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ), Equality Kansas and the ACLU of Kansas took out a full-page ad—"Keep Kansas Open To All"—in the Topeka Capital-Journal and the Wichita Eagle, an HRC press release noted. The ad highlights the overwhelming opposition from the business community to HB 2481—legislation currently pending before the Kansas House of Representatives that would create a license to discriminate with taxpayer funds against LGBTQ foster or adoptive parents, single parents or other qualified families.

In Texas, Austin man James Miller has avoided going to prison by claiming the man he stabbed to death had come onto him, NewNowNext.com noted. Miller will serve 10 years probation after being convicted of criminally negligent homicide in the killing his neighbor Daniel Spencer in September 2015. The night of the stabbing, Miller testified, Spencer became angry when he spurned his sexual advances.

Transgender Law Center's Positively Trans project has launched #ACApositive—a campaign to shift the conversation about health are and the Affordable Care Act toward a focus on the life-or-death stakes for transgender people living with HIV, a press release noted. Launching just a week after news broke that the Trump administration plans to attack the Affordable Care Act's protections for transgender people, the campaign aims to amplify the experiences and voices of transgender people of color living with HIV in federal health care policy. See https://transgenderlawcenter.org/acapositive.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Kyle Duncan, an anti-LGBT candidate, for a lifetime appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit by a vote of 50-47, a Lambda Legal press release noted. Lambda Legal CEO Rachel B. Tiven said, in part, "Kyle Duncan has made a career for himself targeting LGBT children and families. The idea that Mr. Duncan will cast aside his bigoted beliefs overnight, and miraculously transform into an impartial judge, is ludicrous and reckless. His career has been one long grudge match against women and LGBT Americans—now the Trump/Pence Administration is making him a referee."

Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, President Trump's pick to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, has been accused of creating a hostile work environment, drinking while on duty and improperly prescribing drugs to staff during his time as White House doctor to two administrations, NPR reported. Montana Sen. Jon Tester detailed the allegations in an interview with NPR's All Things Considered, saying more than 20 military employees disclosed the as-yet-unsubstantiated allegations to senators ahead of a hearing to debate his nomination to lead the VA.

The Hispanic National Bar Association ( HNBA ), the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association ( NAPABA ) and the National Bar Association ( NBA ) released a statement in response to the recent decision made by the Judge John D. Bates of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia regarding the Trump Administration's attempt to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals ( DACA ) program, a press release noted. ( Bates stayed his decision for 90 days, granting the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) the opportunity to provide a well-founded justification for terminating the DACA program. ) In part, NAPABA President Pankit J. Doshi said, "We cannot continue to leave the lives of these vulnerable members of the immigrant community in limbo. NAPABA continues to stand in support of the DREAMers."

Kanye West turned his attention to prominent activist and Parkland school shooting survivor Emma Gonzalez, who he called his "hero" on Twitter while publishing a photo of her, Vulture.com noted. However, Gonzalez chose to forgo acknowledging West in favor of copying the format of his tweet to celebrate her own hero: James Shaw Jr.—the man who made the news for stopping the Waffle House shooter. That very same minute, West posted a selfie of himself with his head shaved with the caption "inspired by Emma."

For years, Cassandra Bankson became a master at the cover-up—but it wasn't until the model and beauty vlogger finally cleared her skin that she realized she was using her chronic cystic acne to conceal another reality: she's lesbian, Yahoo! Lifestyle reported. "This has been my deepest secret," says Bankson, who candidly chronicled her skin-care journey with her 824K followers on YouTube. "Once I started coming out to friends and family—which I did individually, one by one—my acne started to get better."

On a recent episode of his show, Bill Maher asked out journalist Ronan Farrow if #MeToo has gone too far, bringing up men like former U.S. Sen. Al Franken and Master of None's Aziz Ansari, EW.com noted. "I think that our culture has actually been pretty good on the whole about self-regulating," Farrow said. "That blog about Aziz Ansari came out, it was clearly a single-source narrative about a date gone wrong and there was a debate about how far gone wrong it was, but I don't think anyone saw that and said, 'He's Harvey Weinstein. This is a multiple rapist.' I think people have separated these things clearly."

Former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw has been accused of sexual harassment by former NBC anchor Linda Vester, TheWrap reported, citing Variety. Vester said that Brokaw tried to force her to kiss him on two separate occasions, groped her in a NBC conference room and showed up at her hotel room uninvited. Two friends of Vester corroborated to Variety that she told them about the encounters at the time, and she shared her journal entries from the time period with the news outlet. Brokaw ( who has denied Vester's allegations as well as those of another woman ) has never before been publicly accused of sexual harassment in the past.

However, in a related development, more than 100 women have signed a letter defending Brokaw, CNNMoney reported. Among the names defending Brokaw are some high-profile personalities, including MSNBC hosts Rachel Maddow and Mika Brzezinski, White House correspondent Kelly O'Donnell, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell and NBC special anchor Maria Shriver.

Chicana photographer Laura Aguilar—whose retrospective at the Vincent Price Museum of Art in Monterrey Park, California, now on view at the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University in Miami, made her one of the breakout stars of the Getty Foundation's recent Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA initiative—has died at age 58, ArtNews.com noted. In her series "Latina Lesbians" ( 1986—90 ), she photographed gay Latina women, with her subjects gazing directly into the camera's view; below the images, each of which is mounted on white paper, are captions ( some include spelling errors ) that detail these women's opinions of what it means to be a woman, a lesbian, and/or a Latina.

Phoenix city officials have approved changing a couple crosswalks to celebrate gay pride, the Seattle Times noted. The city council voted to allow two crosswalks in central Phoenix to get a makeover with rainbow designs to celebrate the LGBT community. One crosswalk will be in the city's Melrose District, which is anchored by several gay bars; another will be close to the downtown headquarters of several LGBT organizations. Several cities have rainbow crosswalks, including San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.

On May 10, the University of Virginia is hosting a healthcare conference on caring for LGBT patients, WVTF.org reported. Ken White—an associate dean of nursing at the university who happens to be openly gay—said he knows many health care professionals who are even more uncomfortable with transgender men and women. "They don't know what to say," he explained. "They don't want to make a mistake, so they don't say anything, and that makes patients feel isolated." See https://www.nursing.virginia.edu/med...QSymposium.pdf.

Home-furnishings brand Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams is conducting a CEO search, a press release noted. CEO/Chairman Mitchell Gold, who co-founded the company with President of Design Bob Williams, said, "Bob and I built this company from the ground up with an incredible team, and now we want someone to take the reins, work with us to transition the company to the next generation of leadership, and allow me to focus on my strengths, including new strategic partnerships for both our products and our ethos."

Regional bartending champions from 14 U.S. and Canadian cities will vie for mixology mastery June 6-10 in the final rounds of the Stoli Key West Cocktail Classic, a press release stated. The top two bartenders are to receive a combined total of $20,000 for charity, with a portion given to a Key West organization of their choice and the rest to a favorite hometown charity. See Out.com/keywestcocktailclassic.

Controversial alt-right media figurehead Milo Yiannopoulos was shouted out of NYC bar Churchill Tavern, Eater New York noted. Members of the Democratic Socialists of America chanted, "Nazi scum, get out" at Yiannopoulos until he did just that. He then took to Instagram to say the group "shoved and screamed at" him—although a video of the incident showed a relatively peaceful scene.

[smalltownguy]

May 2, 2018

Trans residents sue Wisconsin over surgeries

In Wisconsin, two transgender residents—Cody Flack and Sara Ann Makenzie—are suing the state's health department, alleging discrimination because the state's Medicaid program does not cover their desired gender-reassignment surgery, The Hill reported.
Flack, a transgender man, and Makenzie, a transgender woman, are battling a 1997 Wisconsin regulation that bans the state's Medicaid program from covering what it refers to as "transsexual surgery."

The plaintiffs say the regulation "flies in the face" of what medical authorities say about gender dysphoria—the "clinically significant distress associated with having a gender identity ... that conflicts with the sex one was assigned at birth."

The Hill article is at thehill.com/policy/healthcare/385542-transgender-patients-sue-wisconsin-for-denying-coverage-of-gender .

[smalltownguy]

May 2, 2018

Iran trans assaults, legal action in Japan, Harry and Meghan

Meghan

A shocking video showing the harassment and sexual assault of a group of trans women has shown how police at the scene stood by and did nothing to protect them in Iran, Gay Star News reported. In the short video, one of the trans women is screaming hysterically as a mob of men surround them on a public street. Witnesses at the scene the police officer allegedly blamed the trans women for the assault. U.S.-based Iranian activist Masih Alinejad posted the video on her Twitter account.
A gay Japanese man has taken legal action after he was barred from his partner's cremation and not receiving inheritance, Gay Star News reported. The move is a historic one in Japan which only recognizes same-sex partnerships in some districts in the country. The 69-year-old, from Osaka Prefecture, filed a suit against his partner's sister for inheritance he feel he is owed; he is also suing her for barring him from attending his partner's cremation. His partner died in March 2016, and he's suing his sister-in-law for 7 million yen ( $64,000 U.S. ) in damages.

Social-media videos are encouraging people to vote for change in Lebanon, Gay Star News noted. Of all the countries in the Middle East, many regard Lebanon as more progressive in regards to LGBTI rights. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal under Penal Code 534; however, some electoral candidates in the country's May 6 elections are openly calling for the code's repeal.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to put gay rights at the forefront of their agenda, the couple told young activists from the Commonwealth, according to The Times. They were at a youth reception in London as part of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting, and Markle said that LGBT issues were about "basic human rights." Although her fiance and the Duke of Cambridge have spoken out about gay rights before, this was the prince's firmest commitment to date.

BBC.com published an article on sexual harassment in Bollywood. The BBC's Rajini Vaidyanathan and Pratiksha Ghilidial spoke to several actresses who say they have been sexually harassed by directors and casting agents. One actress said she went to the police on one occasion but her complaint was dismissed by officers who said "filmy people" can do what they want. Also, Ranveer Singh, one of Bollywood's biggest male actors, said in a 2015 interview that he had experienced the casting couch "first hand." Actor/director/singer Farhan Aktar founded MARD, the Men Against Rape and Discrimination campaign, which raises awareness around sexual violence across the country.

Bangalore, a state in southern India, has seen its number of transgender voters double, Gay Star News noted. Efforts to improve the lives of trans people and raise awareness about their human rights has been credited for the jump in voter numbers. The chief electoral officer ( CEO ) confirmed 4,552 trans people are registered to vote in Bangalore—double than in the most recent elections.

The U.S. Senate confirmed Richard Grenell as U.S. ambassador to Germany, making him the most high-profile openly gay appointee in the Trump administration, The Washington Blade reported. Despite Democratic opposition for months over mean tweets he made about the appearance of women and other comments downplaying the significance of Russia's influence in the 2016 election, Grenell was confirmed ( mostly along party lines ) by a vote of 56-42. The first openly gay U.S. ambassador was James Hormel, who served as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg during the Clinton administration.

Advocacy groups have warned that HIV-positive Papua New Guineans could die if the country's dwindling antiretroviral drugs supply is not replenished soon, PinkNews reported. The Oceanic nation is eating into its "buffer" supply of the HIV medicine after the government slashed the budget for the treatment, reported ABC News. The country, which accounts for 95 percent of all HIV cases in the Pacific, has seen its budget for the HIV drug plummet in the past year.

Pro-Beijing lawmakers spoke out against the appointment of two leading foreign judges to Hong Kong's top court over their support of same-sex rights but stopped short of pledging to block their appointments, The South China Morning Post reported. Baroness Brenda Hale and Beverley McLachlin—Britain's current top judge and Canada's former top judge—cleared their first hurdle to join the Court of Final Appeal with a five to one approval from a Legislative Council subcommittee. The House Committee and Legco will now have to vote them in before they are formally appointed by Hong Kong's top official, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor; tThey would be the first female non-permanent judges in the city's judiciary.

Canadian politician Scott Brison—the Nova Scotia MP for Kings-Hants and president of the Treasury Board—said that, in his teen years, he was borderline suicidal as he tried to be anything but gay, CBC.ca noted. Even after accepting his sexual orientation and pursuing his career in politics, Brison delayed coming out publicly for a few years, thinking it wasn't necessary because his friends and family knew; however, he decided he needed to officially come out as gay to inspire others. Now Brison is Canada's first openly gay cabinet minister.

A delegation representing Pride Montreal traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, to meet the leaders of a dozen organizations working—mostly in the shadows—with sexual and gender-diverse clients ( SGD ), according to a Pride Montreal press release. Present at this meeting was Her Excellency Sara Hradecky, high commissioner to Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda, who explained how Canada would be able to support the actions of the Executive Committee and to invite leaders of LGBTQ+ organizations from Kenya to the Canadian Embassy on May 17, as part of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Speaking of Kenya, the African country's authorities have banned Wanuri Kahiu's Rafiki ( "Friend" ), an LGBT love story that will have its world premiere in Cannes' Un Certain Regard in May, Variety reported. Kahiu announced the decision recently, saying she was "incredibly disappointed" during an appearance on the "Morning Express" wake-up show on Kenyan network KTN. The film ( adapted from the short story "Jambula Tree," by Uganda's Monica Arac de Nyeko ) is the story of two teenage girls who develop a romance that's opposed by their families and community.

Actor Jackie Chan's daughter Etta Ng and her girlfriend have appealed for help, saying that they're homeless, PinkNews noted. In a YouTube video, the couple told viewers that every attempt they had made to find shelter through official channels had led to the authorities trying to split them up. Ng, 18, came out last year, posting a photo on Instagram of her in front of a rainbow coloured background, with the caption: "In case no one got the memo, I'm gay." Sitting alongside her girlfriend Andi Autumn, 30, Ng said, "We've been homeless for a month, due to homophobic parents."

Vancouver bar/nightclub Odyssey will close June 30 after almost 30 years of business, Gay Star News noted. No further explanation for the closure was offered besides a farewell message on the venue's Facebook page. Odyssey originally opened in the city's Gay Village area, but had to relocate in 2010.

[smalltownguy]

May 1, 2018

New campaign brings trans people living with HIV into health care conversation
From a Transgender Law Center press release

( Oakland, CA ) — Transgender Law Center's Positively Trans project today launched #ACApositive, a campaign to shift the conversation about health care and the Affordable Care Act towards a focus on the life-or-death stakes for transgender people living with HIV. Launching just a week after news broke that the Trump administration plans to attack the Affordable Care Act's protections for transgender people, the campaign seeks to amplify the experiences and voices of transgender people of color living with HIV in federal health care policy.
"By undermining the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration is undermining the survival of transgender people of color living with HIV," said Cecilia Chung, senior director of strategic projects at Transgender Law Center and founder of Positively Trans. "Yet so few advocates, policymakers, or media outlets covering these attacks on health care are talking about the stakes for my community. By saying we are #ACApositive, transgender people living with HIV are demanding that our voices and experiences be heard and respected."

The digital campaign will feature the stories and perspectives of dozens of transgender people living with HIV, including through a Twitter town hall on Monday, May 7th, at 11am PT/2pm ET.

"We are now living in a medically advanced world where, with proper treatment, HIV has become manageable, chronic condition and not a death sentence — unless you are poor, unless you are a person of color, and especially unless you're a poor transgender person of color," says Arianna Lint, a member of the Positively Trans National Advisory Board. "For us, it is 1980. The Affordable Care Act has been a critical step towards finally addressing this crisis and giving us a chance to thrive. To turn back on it now would be cruel and, for many, fatal."

In a national research study, Positively Trans found that 44% of trans people living with HIV surveyed had faced discrimination in health care because of their gender identity, and 41% had gone six months or more without medical care since their HIV diagnosis. Positively Trans, the first network led by and for transgender people living with HIV ( TPLHIV ), launched in 2015 to address inequities, stigma, and discrimination faced by TPLHIV through community-driven research, leadership development, storytelling, and organizing.

Evonne Kaho, another member of Positively Trans, added, "We are launching the #ACApositive campaign because everyone should be able to get medical care when they need it. Everyone deserves for their life to be saved, and that's what the Affordable Care Act means for transgender people living with HIV. It's a matter of life or death for us."

Learn more about #ACApositive and find campaign materials at https://transgenderlawcenter.org/acapositive.



Transgender Law Center ( TLC ) is the largest national trans-led organization advocating self-determination for all people. Grounded in legal expertise and committed to racial justice, TLC employs a variety of community-driven strategies to keep transgender and gender nonconforming people alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation. transgenderlawcenter.org