How Many Days Pass Between the Murders of Transgender People? Queerty
BY THE NUMBERS — Every three days, a transgender person is murdered somewhere in the world. And that’s just what’s being reported. See How Many Days Pass Between the Murders of Transgender People?
Queerty
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-many-days…
Bill Making Identification Change More Accessible for Transgender Persons Passes Key Assembly Committee, Moves One Step Closer to Becoming State Law
Sacramento – The Equal ID Act took one step closer to becoming law today when it passed the State Assembly Judiciary Committee by a 7-3 vote. The bill, sponsored by Equality California (EQCA) and introduced by Assemblymember Ted Lieu (D – Torrance), increases the legal rights and recognition enjoyed by transgender people by clarifying that qualified transgender people born in California can return to the county of their birth to obtain a court order reflecting their correct gender and accompanying name change. The court order is then used to obtain a corrected California birth certificate.
“All Californians deserve legal documentation that accurately reflects who they are,” EQCA Executive Director Geoff Kors said. “Once passed, this law will make it easier for transgender people both in California and beyond to obtain accurate identification, apply for jobs, and live their lives as full and equal members of society.”
Until recently, California law only allowed transgender persons to petition the court for an order recognizing a change of gender in the county in which they presently reside. Last month, the Transgender Law Center successfully challenged the residency requirement in the California Court of Appeals. In Somers v. Superior Court, the court held that the residency requirement violated the equal protection rights of California-born transgender people residing out of state. The Equal ID Act is the next step in ensuring that all Californians are able to obtain accurate birth certificates.
“The Equal ID Act would bring the Health and Safety Code up to date with case law,” said Kristina Wertz, Legal Director of the Transgender Law Center. “It would alleviate any confusion and ensure that California-born people residing in other states know that they, too, can be afforded the dignity of a birth certificate that reflects who they truly are.”
The new bill ensures that transgender people born in California know that they can return to the county of their birth to obtain a corrected birth certificate. It also provides greater access to transgender persons living in the state, allowing them for first time to petition the court in their home counties.
“The Equal ID Act would make it clear to others in my situation that they can go back to the counties in which they were born to get a court order changing their gender. It would save people all the trouble I went through finding attorneys and spending nearly four years in the courts,” said Gigi Marie Somers, who testified at this morning’s committee hearing. Ms. Somers, a transgender woman born in California, was unable to obtain a new birth certificate in the state of Kansas, where she now resides. Ms. Somers was the plaintiff in the legal action brought by the Transgender Law Center.
“The rights of Californians should not end at our state’s borders,” Assemblymember Leiu said. “The Equal ID Act makes certain every Californian has the freedom and liberty to be true to his or herself.”
Birth certificates are used as primary source of identification and are often necessary to secure other forms of identification, including social security cards and passports.
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Equality California (EQCA) is the largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender-rights advocacy organization in California. In the past decade, EQCA has strategically moved California from a state with extremely limited legal protections for LGBT individuals to a state with some of the most comprehensive civil-rights protections in the nation. EQCA has passed over 50 pieces of legislation and continues to advance equality through legislative advocacy, public education and community empowerment. www.eqca.org
The Transgender Law Center (TLC) is a civil rights organization advocating for transgender communities. TLC uses direct legal services, education, community organizing, and advocacy to transform California into a state that recognizes and supports the needs of transgender people and their families. www.transgenderlawcenter.org
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/bill-making-i…
California Assembly passes legislation that extends protections for the LGBT community
The bill, which will require prisons to include sexual orientation and gender identity when identifying prisoners who need protection, passed by an overwhelming margin of 65 to 9. 14 of the 29 Republican members voted for the legislation and 6 members abstained from the vote.
All of EQCA’s current legislation continues to pass their committees, including yesterday’s Assembly Judiciary Committee vote to make changing one’s gender identification more accessible for transgender persons and last week’s bipartisan vote in the Senate Education Committee to designate May 22 as Harvey Milk Day.
And this recent activity is evidence that the arc of equality always bends toward progress.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/california-as…
Queercents: Steps to Avoid Homelessness
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Foreclosure rates continue to rise, and more Americans are on the brink of homelessness every day. Unfortunately, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community are at a higher risk for becoming homeless. Youth are particularly vulnerable. Some estimate that between 40%-60% of homeless youth are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
Queercents (http://www.queercents.com/), a personal finance blog serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, has provided several tips for people who may be on the verge of becoming homeless. Author Alex Taylor shares advice based on personal experience to help readers avoid becoming permanently homeless.
The story is available at http://www.queercents.com/2009/04/28/my-financial-implosion-avoiding-homelessn ess/
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help,” says Taylor. “It’s important to recognize when you need assistance from others. Contact friends, family and social service agencies if you need help.” Most importantly, Taylor advises that “if the loss of your home is imminent, make avoiding homelessness your full time job. Look for new work, be persistent in your search for help, and do not give up. Once you fall into homelessness, it’s much more difficult to work your way back.”
About Queercents:
Established by Nina Smith in 2006, Queercents originated the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender personal finance blog concept by aggregating financial tips from the distinct writings of several money bloggers.
Queercents . . . we’re here, we’re queer, and we’re not going shopping without coupons.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/05/queercents-st…
KATHY GRIFFIN, BISHOP GENE ROBINSON, MILK, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE, THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW, AQUÍ Y AHORA HONORED AT 20TH ANNUAL GLAAD MEDIA AWARDS PRESENTED BY IBM
Los Angeles, Sunday, April 19, 2009 – Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Jessica Alba, T.R. Knight, Kate Walsh, Teri Hatcher, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Megan Mullally, Bill Paxton, Jennifer Beals, Alan Cumming and Gus Van Sant were among the celebrities who joined the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) as the organization honored Kathy Griffin, the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, and the best in film, television and journalism last night at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles.
Photo: Kathy Griffin received the Vanguard Award at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, April 18, 2009. © 2009 Vince Bucci/WireImage. All Rights Reserved.
GLAAD, the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, present the GLAAD Media Awards to recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives.
At the ceremony, T.R. Knight presented the Vanguard Award to Kathy Griffin, a strong ally of the LGBT community, who regularly includes LGBT people in her Bravo reality program Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List and in her live comedy shows. In media outlets around the world, Griffin is a vocal advocate for marriage equality for same-sex couples, and regularly supports LGBT community organizations. The Vanguard Award is presented to individuals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the LGBT community in the media.
“This is a thrill and an honor and an awesome night,” Griffin said in her acceptance speech. “You guys have been so good to me. I appreciate you, I get you, I love you, and I’ll keep making you laugh as long as you’ll let me! Thank you!”
Also at the event, Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black and Cleve Jones, creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, presented the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop in the history of the Episcopal church. The Stephen F. Kolzak Award is presented to an openly lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for the LGBT community in the media.
Photo: (l. – r.) Cleve Jones and Dustin Lance Black presented the Stephen F. Kolzak Award to Bishop Gene Robinson at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards with GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano (r.) at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, April 18, 2009. © 2009 Jeff Vespa/WireImage. All Rights Reserved.
“It is such an honor to be here, and to be honored by the Board of GLAAD….To have you say thanks in this way just means the world to me,” Robinson said accepting his award. Speaking of the LGBT movement, Robinson continued, “We need to be in this for the long haul…Just because we achieved civil rights in the sixties for African Americans, it doesn’t mean racism is gone. Because we achieved rights for women in the seventies, it doesn’t mean sexism is gone….But we can stay in this fight because we know how it’s is going to end. This is going to end with full equality for LGBT people in our churches and in society. I have no doubt of it.”
Alan Cumming presented a Special Recognition Award to The L Word which completed its sixth and final season on Showtime in March. Show creator Ilene Chaiken accepted the award with cast members Jennifer Beals, Leisha Hailey and Katherine Moenning. At the 17th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2005, The L Word received the award for Outstanding Drama Series.
In her remarks, Chaiken commented on the continuing need to advocate for the inclusion of LGBT characters in the media. “At this moment in history, when marriage equality is virtually inevitable and maybe even imminent, when we’ve welcomed new LGBT civil rights legislation in Iowa, Colorado, Washington D.C., New Hampshire and soon New York…how can it be that LGBT people – after years of slow but promising momentum – have careened backwards in terms of representation in mainstream popular entertainment media?” Chaiken said.
Chaiken continued, “GLAAD has been working vigilantly to ensure that the defamation of LGBT people does not go unchecked. GLAAD’s been working to ensure that our lives are visible in the news and in the media. GLAAD’s work is vital and critical to helping us to achieve the milestones that are lifting LGBT people to our rightful place of full, unfettered equality. Thank you, GLAAD. And thank you Showtime, for six wonderful years…Thanks for breaking ground and for having the courage of your convictions. Now let’s do it again. Let’s do it more. Let’s do it often. Let’s do it always.”
GLAAD also recognized Prop 8: The Musical, a video created for FunnyorDie.com in response to the passage of Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative which eliminated the right to marry for same-sex couples. Directed by Adam Shankman and written by Marc Shaiman, the video received over one million hits on its first day online. During the show, Miss Coco Peru and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles performed the song live onstage. Shankman accepted the award on behalf of the team of creators.
Milk received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Release. The award was accepted by director Gus Van Sant, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi accepted a GLAAD Media Award for the episode “Ellen & Portia’s Wedding Day” from The Ellen DeGeneres Show nominated for Outstanding Talk Show Episode. Show creator Marc Cherry, along with Teri Hatcher, Dana Delaney, Kyle MacLachlan, Tuc Watkins, Kevin Rahm, Andrea Bowen and Brenda Strong accepted the award for Outstanding Comedy Series for Desperate Housewives. The episode “Unidentified Funk” from The New Adventures of Old Christine received the award for Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without an LGBT character), and show creator Kari Lizer, cast members Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Clark Gregg accepted with award with episode guest star Megan Mullally. Finally, Univision news program Aquí y Ahora received the award for Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine for its story about the murder of transgender teenager Angie Zapata. Monica Zapata, Angie’s sister, accepted the award with Univision producer Belissa Morillo.
Photo: (l. – r.) Director Gus Van Sant, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, producer Dan Jinks and producer Bruce Cohen accepted the award for Outstanding Film – Wide Release for Milk at the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, April 18, 2009. © 2009 Jeff Vespa/WireImage. All Rights Reserved.
GLAAD Media Award-winning performer Miss Coco Peru hosted the show, and award-winning Broadway stars Cheyenne Jackson and Jennifer Holliday performed for the black tie audience at the Nokia Theatre. Photo: Miss Coco Peru hosted the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, April 18, 2009. © 2009 Vince Bucci/WireImage. All Rights Reserved.
Other celebrity guests at the event included: Jessica Alba, Chad Allen and Jeremy Glazer, Jensen Atwood, Jennifer Beals, Bebe Zahara Benet, Dustin Lance Black, Andrea Bowen, Ilene Chaiken, Justin Chambers, Marc Cherry, Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks, Matt Cohen, Jennifer Elise Cox, Wilson Cruz, Alan Cumming, Katelynn Cusanelli, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi, Dana Delaney, Kirby Dick, Ileana Douglas, Randolph Duke, Joely Fisher, Scott Michael Foster, David Furnish, Robert Gant, Rebecca Gayheart, Thea Gill, Spencer Grammer, Clark Gregg, Kathy Griffin, Greg Grunberg, Leisha Hailey, Teri Hatcher, Cheyenne Jackson, Maurice Jamal, Paul James, Cleve Jones, Dan Karaty, T.R. Knight, Rex Lee, Jeff Lewis and Ryan Brown, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jane Lynch, Justina Machado, Camryn Manheim, Alec Mapa, Kyle MacLachlan, Katherine Moenning, Megan Mullally, Mary Murphy, Ryan Murphy, Mandy Musgrave, Nichelle Nichols, Lupe Ontiveros, Cheri Oteri, Peter Paige, Bill Paxton, Miss Coco Peru, Patrik-Ian Polk, Kevin Rahm, Bishop Gene Robinson, Gabriel Romero, Howard Rosenman , Brad Rowe, Adam Shankman, Sean Smith, Darren Star, Darryl Stephens, Amber Stevens, Brenda Strong, George Takei and Brad Altman, Bruno Tonioli, Gus Van Sant, Christian Vincent, Kate Walsh, Tuc Watkins, Trevor Wright, Monica Zapata, and GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano.
Following is a complete list of GLAAD Media Award recipients announced Saturday in Los Angeles. Additional awards will be presented in San Francisco on May 9 at the Hilton San Francisco. Previously awards were presented in New York at the Marriot Marquis on March 28.
- Vanguard Award: Kathy Griffin (presented by T.R. Knight)
- Stephen F. Kolzak Award: The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson (presented by Dustin Lance Black and Cleve Jones)
- Special Recognition: The L Word (Showtime) [Accepted by: show creator Ilene Chaiken, with Jennifer Beals, Katherine Moennig, and Leisha Hailey]
- Special Recognition: Prop 8: The Musical (FunnyorDie.com) [Accepted by: director Adam Shankman]
- Outstanding Film – Wide Release: Milk (Focus Features) [Accepted by: director Gus Van Sant, screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, and producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks]
- Outstanding Comedy Series: Desperate Housewives (ABC) [Accepted by: show creator Marc Cherry, Teri Hatcher, Dana Delaney, Kyle MacLachlan, Tuc Watkins, Kevin Rahm, Andrea Bowen and Brenda Strong]
- Outstanding Individual Episode (in a series without an LGBT character): “Unidentified Funk” The New Adventures of Old Christine (CBS) [Accepted by: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Megan Mullally, Clark Gregg, and show creator Kari Lizer]
- Outstanding Talk Show Episode: “Ellen & Portia’s Wedding Day” The Ellen DeGeneres Show (syndicated) [Accepted by: Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi]
- Outstanding Spanish-Language TV Journalism – Newsmagazine: “A juzgar por las apariencias” y “En otro cuerpo” Aquí y Ahora (Univision) [Accepted by: Univision producer Belissa Morillo and Monica Zapata, sister of murdered transgender teenager Angie Zapata]
GLAAD also announced that Brothers & Sisters (ABC) received the award for Outstanding Drama Series and Secrets of the Trade by Jonathan Tolins received the award for Outstanding Los Angeles Theater production.
Support from corporate partners allowed GLAAD to offer free or low-cost tickets to the event to over 1000 youth and young adults from the Southern California area. Fox television network also sponsored a special youth after-party, which included appearances by the cast and producers of Fox’s upcoming series Glee, as well as celebrity attendees from Milk, The L Word, Greek, Grey’s Anatomy, and Noah’s Arc.
Many of last night’s guests wore white ribbons provided by WhiteKnot.org. These ribbons symbolize support for marriage equality for same-sex couples.
More than 100 corporate sponsors are showing their support, including National Presenting Partner IBM and Local Presenting Partners ABSOLUT® VODKA and Prudential. GLAAD is also grateful to the event’s Platinum Underwriters Comcast, TimeWarner and University of Phoenix. AT&T, Allstate Insurance Company, American Airlines, Barefoot Wine, Disney/ABC Television Group, HMS Media, Herb Ritts Foundation, New York City Marriott & Renaissance Hotels, Renaissance New York Hotel, MillerCoors, NBC Universal, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Southwest Airlines, The Terry Watanabe Charitable Trust and Wyndham Hotel Group support the 20th Annual GLAAD Media Awards as Underwriter Partners.
For a full list of corporate sponsors or information on how to become a corporate sponsor, purchase tickets or a tribute journal ad, please visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards or contact Stamp Event Management at (877) 519-7904 or glaad@stampeventco.com.
About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit http://www.glaad.org/.
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Transgender woman wins birth certificate ruling
A 67-year-old Los Angeles native, now living in Kansas, won a state appeals court ruling in San Francisco on Friday that makes it easier for California-born transgender people to change their birth certificate, a document that can be critical in a security-conscious age.
Gigi Marie Somers was born male but has lived most of her life as a woman, and underwent sex-change surgery in 2005. She got a driver’s license with her new name and gender and sought a new birth certificate, but learned that Kansas was one of the few states that will not change a resident’s sex designation on a birth certificate.
Somers then turned to a California court, only to discover that a 1977 state law requires an application for a sex change on a new birth certificate to be filed in the county where the applicant now lives.
But Friday, the First District Court of Appeal said the law violates the rights of someone like Somers to be treated the same as a transgender person who still lives in California.
Any law that penalizes someone for moving to another state restricts the constitutional right to travel and can be justified only if it meets an urgent government need, which doesn’t exist in this case, Justice James Marchiano said in the 3-0 ruling.
For anyone in a similar situation, the case is important because of “the emphasis placed on identity documents in our post-9/11 world,” said attorney Matt Wood of the Transgender Law Center in San Francisco, which represented Somers.
He said the federal government and employers are increasingly requiring birth certificates or passports to establish the identity of applicants for various programs and jobs.
Legislation that would have the same effect as the court ruling, AB1185 by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance (Los Angeles County), was introduced in February but hasn’t passed yet, Wood said.
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Poll: Americans support gay rights
A Harris Interactive poll released Dec. 3 found that Americans support a range of policies and protections for gay people.
The Pulse of Equality survey, commissioned by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, found that majorities of Americans favor either marriage or civil unions for gay couples, hate crime laws to protect gay and transgender people, letting gays in the military serve openly, and allowing gays and lesbians to adopt children.
The telephone survey questioned 2,000 adults between Nov. 13 and 17 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.
Among the specific findings:
* Seventy-five percent of U.S. adults favor either marriage or domestic partnerships/civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Only 22 percent oppose any legal recognition of gay couples.
* U.S. adults are evenly divided on whether gay couples should have access to marriage – 47 percent say yes and 49 percent say no.
* Sixty-four percent think gays in the military should not have to stay closeted, as required by the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
* Sixty-three percent support expanding hate crime laws to cover gay and transgender people. At present, 31 states and the District of Columbia have such laws that cover sexual orientation and 12 of those laws also encompass gender identity.
* Fifty-one percent favor protecting gay and transgender people under existing laws that ban discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. Twenty states and the District of Columbia have such laws that cover sexual orientation and 13 of those laws also encompass gender identity.
* Sixty-nine percent oppose bans on gay adoption.
“We observed a positive relationship between knowing a gay or transgender person and one’s attitudes toward them and the policy issues that affect their lives,” said Laura Light, Harris Interactive’s vice president of public relations research.
“Based on other surveys we have conducted on attitudes toward LGBT people and issues, the results of this survey suggest that public sentiment in the U.S. is trending toward greater acceptance of gay- and transgender-related policy issues.”
The survey found that people under 65, and especially those 18-34, are more gay-friendly than people over 65. Women are generally more supportive than men. Latinos are more supportive than whites and blacks when it comes to gays in the military. Blacks are more supportive than whites and Latinos on hate-crime laws. And Catholics and “mainline” Christians (Protestant, Mormon or “other Christian”) are more supportive than “born-again” Protestants, Mormons or other Christians.
Nineteen percent of those questioned said their feelings toward gay people have become more favorable over the past five years. They attributed the change to such things as knowing someone who is gay, seeing gay people on TV and in movies, passage of gay-friendly laws, news coverage of gay issues, and learning of the gay-friendly positions of friends, family members and religious leaders.
“Knowing someone who is gay or lesbian” was the most significant factor, cited by 79 percent of those whose feelings had evolved.
See Poll: Americans support gay rights
pride source.com, MI -
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