A California Assembly panel endorsed legalizing gay and lesbian marriages last week, marking the first time that any legislative body in the U.S. has supported such marriages with a formal vote, reports The Los Angeles Times. The bill is considered unlikely to advance, but historic nonetheless.
The Republican-controlled Michigan House of Representatives passed a measure last week that would allow doctors to refuse to treat gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender patients. The Conscientious Objector Policy Act provides that healthcare workers can refuse service to anyone for moral, ethical, or religious reasons, although the measure would prohibit the refusal of emergency care. The bill was strongly supported by the Michigan Catholic Conference.
A 17-year-old boy and his 32-year-old transgender girlfriend climbed a tree in New York's Central Park last week. The twist? They were nearly naked, reports the Daily News. The two climbed high into a tree to protest treatment of transgender people and their representation in mainstream media. After four hours the two voluntarily left the tree and were taken for psychiatric evaluation.
A D.C. grand jury indicted Antoine Jacobs, 22, on gun charges and first-degree murder of a transsexual performance artist, reports WJLA-TV. Jacobs allegedly engaged in sex with Elvys Morales. Prosecutors allege that Jacobs killed Morales after finding the performer was biologically male. The grand jury found that Morales' sexual orientation contributed to the crime—a finding that could cause Jacobs to spend life in prison without parole.
Anthony Barreto-Neto, a transgender former police officer in Hardwick, Vt., won a $90,000 settlement with the city for a discrimination complaint. Barreto-Neto was on the force for five months before being forced out when fellow officers found out their coworker had a sex change 40 years earlier, reports Reuters.
A 17-year-old North Carolina student was suspended from school after he wore a t-shirt condemning homosexuals on the national day of silence last week, reports the New Humanist. Mark Austin wore a shirt with the phrases 'Homosexuality is a sin,' 'Hell is REAL' and 'Shout for joy!' He was suspended for wearing clothing that was offensive based on gender.
On July 1, Virginia will have what the Human Rights Campaign calls 'one of [the] nation's most discriminatory laws.' Virginia passed a bill that not only bans gay marriage and recognition of gay marriages performed in other states, but disallows any contracts that would try to give benefits similar to marriage. The governor, when signing the law, amended it to remove the language disallowing contractual protections, but the legislature reinstated the original language by overriding the governor's veto.
The Alzheimer's Society has launched a gay and lesbian network. The organization, based in the U.K., offers support for caretakers of people with the disease. See www.alzheimers.org .uk/Gay_Carers.
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