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A Transgender Man Who Gives Birth is a Mother, U.K. Court Rules

An individual who is born female but later becomes male and gives birth to a child should be legally regarded as a mother, England’s High Court ruled on Wednesday. Fred McConnell, a transgender man, wanted to be recognized as the father of his son, who was born last year, on the official registration of the child’s birth but was told he would have to be registered as the mother. He sought legal action to quash that decision, saying it breached his and his son’s rights but in a landmark ruling, Andrew McFarlane, President of the High Court’s Family Division, dismissed his claim […]

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Judge Tosses Lawsuit Challenging Maryland Conversion Therapy Ban

A federal judge has thrown out a psychotherapist’s lawsuit challenging Maryland’s ban on treating minors with conversion therapy, the practice of trying to change a client’s homosexual orientation. U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow’s ruling on Friday rejected Christopher Doyle’s claims that the state law violates his First Amendment rights to free speech and religious freedom. The judge said prohibiting the practice of conversion therapy on minors doesn’t prevent licensed therapists from expressing their personal views about conversion therapy to minor clients. Roger Gannam, one of Doyle’s attorneys, said Monday that they will appeal the judge’s decision. Doyle is represented by […]

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Shooting of Dallas Transgender Woman was Hate Crime, Police Say

Police in Dallas say a transgender woman was seriously wounded after being shot several times and they are investigating the attack as a hate crime. Investigators say a man driving a pickup truck pulled alongside the woman late Friday, yelled slurs about her gender identity and fired several times, striking her in the chest and arm. Authorities say the woman’s injuries prevented her from speaking with them until Sunday when she relayed details of the shooting. Police are searching for a red four-door pickup with large wheel rims, and released images and details of the crime on their website. The Dallas […]

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“Don’t Punish Me for Who I Am” Systemic Discrimination Against Transgender Women in Lebanon

We cannot find employment, we do not have homes, we cannot get an education, we are marginalized, we are shunned from society, we have no life, no connections, no families. We are rejected from family, from institutions, from friends, from our homes. We go to look for jobs and the first thing they ask for is ID, and when they see I present as a woman, but my ID says male, they won’t hire me. If the government helps us correct our official records, we can go find jobs like any other person and do just fine. Instead, they convict […]

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A Gay Couple Were ‘Attacked at OK Church and Prayed Over to Make Straight’

A gay couple said they were tricked into attending a church service where they were attacked by the congregation, with one being held down while they prayed over him. Since coming out in Spring this year, Sean Cormie had been asked repeatedly by his family to attend a service at their church, in Oklahoma, and to bring along his boyfriend, Gary Gardner. Cormie told News 4: “I wanted to go to church to make my mom proud and make her happy.” But towards the end of the service at the pentecostal church, First Assembly of God Blackwell, the pastor began making statements […]

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‘It’s Like Being on the Edge of Dying’: Chechnya Man Arrested and Tortured for Being Gay

A gay man who escaped torture in Chechnya has spoken about his harrowing experience amidst Russia’s ‘anti-gay purge’. 27-year-old Amin Dzhabrailov fled to Canada through the Rainbow Railroad, a non-profit that helps LGBT+ people escape from countries where their sexuality puts their lives in danger. Speaking at a Rainbow Railroad fundraiser in Winnipeg on Thursday, September 12, he described to CBC his ordeal as a gay man in the Russian republic. “It was awful,” he said, remembering the day in March 2017 when Russian soldiers kidnapped him from the hair salon he worked at. “I was colouring hair and it was my usual day. I […]

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The Problem with Gay Republicans

So, what did you get up to on your summer vacation? I myself did the usual gay hot spots along with many of my fellow queer Washingtonians — Rehoboth Beach for a few weekends here and there, Provincetown, Mass. All in all, a pretty gay little summer.  Just as our summers were wrapping up, Vice President Mike Pence was wrapping up his own rainbow tour of Europe, including stops in Ireland, where he dined with the country’s gay prime minister and his husband. Later, on to London, where Pence got all dreamy-eyed sitting across from Boris Johnson, gushing over both […]

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Bahamas LGBTI Activists Contribute to Hurricane Dorian Relief Efforts

LGBTI activists in the Bahamas have joined efforts to help victims of Hurricane Dorian in their country. Alexus D’Marco, executive director of the D’Marco Organization, on Friday told the Washington Blade her organization is providing support to people who are now living in shelters in the Bahamian capital of Nassau and assessing the specific needs they may have. D’Marco and her colleagues are also tracking missing people and reporting them to Bahamas’ National Emergency Management Agency. D’Marco, who is also the executive director of the Bahamas Organization of LGBTI Affairs, noted the Rustin Fund for Global Equality and the Caribbean […]

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The 19th Trans Person to be Killed in the US has been Identified

The 19th reported killing of a trans American this year alone took place on Friday in Kansas City, Kansas, and has been named by loved ones and activists as Ja’leyah-Jamar. The victim was identified as in their 20s and was shot to death on the corner of North 60 Street and Leavenworth Road, according to Kansas City Police Department news release. Law enforcement were called to investigate a shooting at 2:38pm in the outer town area, filled with auto repair shops and community churches. They arrived to find the injured victim in the middle of the road. Jamar was quickly taken […]

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Rising to Our Moment Against Trump’s Madness

When most of us launch into a new morning it is nothing like storming Normandy Beach on D-Day. Most of us are not being shot, deported, jailed, evicted, or starved. Whatever brutal measures Trump and his minions have in mind, most of our freedoms have not yet been blotted out by a fascist state. We still have our voices and our power to act. It is for us to use them. Some say we’re letting Trump distract us from the harm he’s doing. Really? We can’t multitask? What is he up to that we’re missing? Lining his pockets? Packing the courts? […]

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