Articles in News
Lesbian couple saved 40 from rightwing Norwegian terrorist
Hege Dalen and Toril Hansen — a lesbian couple — put their own lives at risk to save about 40 youth from the July 22 massacre in Norway. A total of 250 to 300 youth were rescued by Hege, Toril, and others camped near them that day. We salute their heroism.
Trans driver license lawsuit: Privacy & equal protection
Jillian T. Weiss, J.D., Ph.D., analyzes the legal issues of privacy and equal protection in the ACLU’s brief in K.L. v. State of Alaska, which involves Alaska DMV’s denial of a transgender woman’s driver’s license with a correct gender marker without proof of a surgical sex change.
Sara’s News Roundup 7/24/11
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) Historic anti-DOMA hearing at the Senate airs pro-, anti-gay sides
Washington, 365Gay.com, July 23, 2011
2) Transgender people to be recognised in law
Ireland, Irish Times, July 15, 2011
3) Lesbian Couples Boosting Gay Marriage Numbers
NPR, July 11, 2011
4) Up, Up and Out of the Closet: DC Comics introduces several gay superheroes including Batwoman, The Question, and Voodoo in its new line of comic books
Advocate, July 18, 2011
5) Obama Nominates Another Gay Man for Federal Bench
Washington, Advocate, July 21, 2011
6) Alaska sued in transgender driver’s license case
Juneau, Alaska, Sacramento Bee, July 18, 2011
7) Queer theologian makes the case for (radical) love ~ God as ‘Divine Top’ and other surefire feather rufflers
Gay City News, June 29, 2011
8) One-third of Methodist clergy in New England would break rules on same-sex marriages
New England, Providence Journal, July 18, 2011
9) Clay Aiken on Being a Gay Teen in the South
North Carolina, Advocate, July 22, 2011
10) NY’s ‘First Lesbian’ of Bronx ready for wedding
New York, AFP, July 22, 2011
11) North Carolina Is in for a Fight on Marriage
North Carolina, Advocate, July 1, 2011
12) Researchers Discover Sex-Change Gene
Advocate, July 21, 2011
13) N.Y. Marriage Windfall: $155M
New York, Advocate, July 23, 2011
14) Let the Outgames begin
Vancouver, Canada, Yahoo News, July 21, 2011
15) Couples wed on 1st day gay marriage is legal in NY
New York (AP), Yahoo News, July 24, 2011
DADT repeal certified, & Sen. Begich’s remarks on DADT at Anchorage Pride
Seven months after DADT repeal was signed into law, it’s finally being certified! This seems like a good time to post our video of Sen. Begich’s remarks at Anchorage Pride, and to again thank him and Sen. Murkowski for their votes to end this draconian law.
Focus on the Family leader’s antigay testimony demolished at DOMA repeal hearing
In a Senate committee hearing on a bill to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), Senators Al Franken and Patrick Leahy demolished testimony by Tom Minnery of the antigay organization Focus on the Family. Tom Minnery is a cousin to Alaska Family Council’s Jim Minnery.
Alaska DMV refuses to put correct gender on drivers license; ACLU sues
The ACLU and the ACLU of Alaska have brought suit against the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles over DMV’s refusal to put the correct gender marker on a transgender woman’s driver’s license without proof of a surgical sex change. The brief in the case, K.L. v. State of Alaska, can be read at at the ACLU or ACLU of Alaska websites.
Here is the ACLU of Alaska’s press release:
DMV Refusal to Correct Transgender Driver’s Licenses Unconstitutional
ACLU Lawsuit Challenges Requirement that Transgender Persons Undergo Surgery for Proper Gender on License
ANCHORAGE, AK, July 18, 2011 — The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Alaska filed a brief today seeking to allow transgender individuals to correct the gender marker on their driver’s licenses without undergoing major surgery. The state’s surgery requirement places an undue burden on transgender individuals and presents a gross violation of an individual’s right to privacy.
“It is unfair and unnecessary to require that transgender people undergo prohibitively expensive and drastic surgery in order to have accurate identity documents,” said Jeffrey Mittman, executive director of the ACLU of Alaska. “No one should have to disclose sensitive personal information or be forced to make major medical decisions in order to get an accurate driver’s license.”
The lawsuit is being filed on behalf of a transgender woman, K.L., whose United States passport and work documents all identify her as a female. After initially securing a change to the gender on her driver’s license, she was told that her new license would be revoked unless she submitted proof of having surgery. The American Psychiatric Association and medical experts agree that surgery is medically necessary for some with gender identity disorder (GID), but not for everyone. Treatment for GID is individualized, and some can be effectively treated without it, making it unnecessary for the state to confirm whether or not an individual has had surgery before correcting a license. Additionally, such surgery is extremely expensive and potentially dangerous. The State Department no longer requires transgender people to have surgery before it will correct the gender marker on passports and a growing number of states have stopped requiring surgery for changing the gender marker on a driver’s license.
“Having a driver’s license that doesn’t match my appearance and identity would place me at risk of discrimination and physical harm,” said K.L., who has lived as a woman for two years.
The state supreme court has found that the Alaska Constitution’s privacy clause protects individuals’ right to self-expression and to be free from the disclosure of sensitive personal information and government intrusions on their decisions about medical care.
“The surgery requirement not only violates Alaska’s laws, it demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about what it means to be transgender,” said John Knight, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project. “The state cannot deny transgender people an accurate driver’s license based on an arbitrary and unconstitutional policy that clashes with accepted medical standards.”
The brief can be found on the ACLU websites at www.aclu.org and www.akclu.org.
Attorneys include Knight of the ACLU Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project, Thomas Stenson of the ACLU of Alaska Foundation, and Stephanie Boehl of Perkins Coie.
Sara’s News Roundup 7/17/11
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) Jerry Brown signs LGBT school textbook bill
Sacramento, San Francisco Chronicle, July 14, 2011
2) Grantee fights for LGBTQ equality in the courts
Anchorage, Alaska, Pride Foundation, July 11, 2011
3) Mass. city first to pay wedded gay workers to offset tax
Cambridge, Mass., 365Gay.com, July 11, 2011
4) New Rules, Old Institutions
Atlanta, The Advocate, August 2011
5) Transgender people will be forced to divorce to achieve recognition
Ireland, The Journal, July 15, 2011
6) Daily pill can ward of HIV infection, studies find
Atlanta, New York Times, July 14, 2011
7) About This Issue: Coming Out At Work ~ We’re not going to pretend this was an easy topic for Black Enterprise to consider…
Black Enterprise, July 6, 2011
8) Brad Pitt Calls for National Marriage Equality
Advocate, July 6, 2011
9) Sydney adopts gay-proud Gaga
Sydney, Australia, AFP, July 12, 2011
10) Court: ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ will stay in place
Los Angeles, Associated Press, July 16, 2011
11) Fighting Homophobia at the World Cup
Frankfurt, Germany, Advocate, July 13, 2011
12) Glee’s Gay Not Returning for Season 4
Advocate, July 14, 2011
13) Ontario to mandate ‘LGBT support groups’ in Catholic schools
Ontario, Canada, Xtra, July 2, 2011
14) Mayor Bloomberg rewards GOP senators who backed gay marriage with $10K thank you
Albany, N.Y., New York Daily News, July 14th 2011
15) Church May Be Removed From Association For Supporting Gay Group
Owensboro, Kentucky, WLKY.com, July 13, 2011
16) 100s Turn Out For Boston Church Mass Welcoming Gay Community
Boston, CBS, July 10, 2011
17) Irvin endorses same-sex rights
San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle July 13, 2011
Anthony Romero of ACLU to speak Thursday at UAA
Anthony Romero, national executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Romero will be the featured speaker for Disparate Opportunity in America: The Ongoing Struggle for Equal Rights sponsored by the UAA Justice Center and ACLU of Alaska. The program will focus on recent developments in the continuing challenges faced by minority and underprivileged communities and the work of the ACLU in fighting for equal rights.
Sara’s News Roundup 7/11/11
Recent LGBT news selected by Sara Boesser in Juneau, Alaska.
1) Feds: CA school district failed to help gay teen
San Francisco, 365Gay.com, July 5, 2011
2) Speak Now or Forever Hold Your Peace? ~ Why We Need Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage
Canada, Canadian Dimension, January 2, 2004
3) Watch: The World’s Gayest Ads
Advocate, July 2011
4) Culhane: But are they “bigots”?
365Gay.com, July 1, 2011
5) Southern Baptist Pres Denounces Gay Bashing in Favor of Eternity in Hell
Religion Dispatches, July 1, 2011
6) 10 Reasons to Lay Off Lady Gaga
Advocate, July 6, 2011
7) Australia military may scrap all gender barriers
Canberra, Australia, Associated Press, July 2, 2011
8) Gay or straight, guys reluctant to say I do
New York Post, July 5, 2011
9) No ‘him’ or ‘her’; preschool fights gender bias
Stockholm, Sweden, Associated Press, June 27, 2011
10) Spread the Word to End the Word
Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education, R-Word
11) Transgender Samoans ‘glorious miracles’
Samoa, Adelaide Now, , July 5, 2011
12) ‘God Has Created You for Heterosexuality’: Clinics Owned by Michele Bachmann’s Husband Practice Ex-Gay Therapy
The Nation, July 8, 2011
13) NOM Targets N.Y. Republican Senator
Buffalo, N.Y., Advocate, July 1, 2011
14) Don’t laugh at “ladyboys,” Thai election officials told
Bangkok, Thailand, Reuters, July 1, 2011
15) On Going Without
Advocate, July 5, 2011
16) Fraud, larceny charges in sham marriages case
Camp Pendleton, Calif., Military Times, July 3, 2011
17) National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, HRC and UNID@S release new bilingual guide on sexual orientation, gender identity and the Bible for Latino/a families and churches
NGLTF, July 2011
This one for you, James Crump
James Crump came to Alaska to find himself, and stayed in Alaska to share himself with us. His death on June 25 at Anchorage’s Pride parade was a blow not only to his family & friends, but also to our whole community. But just what is our community — and where do we go from here?
