Support from 60 Tech Companies including Apple on Prop 1 Failed to Sway Houstonians this Week

Staff
Patently Apple

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WATCH: Mormon Elder Explains Why Children with Gay Parents Aren't Welcome

Jase Peeples
Advocate

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ezs note:  Uh... I retract my previous remark... they're dumbasses after all...

California Teen Is the First Transgender Student on Her High School's Cheerleading Squad

Gabrielle Olya
People

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Hating Queerness Without Hating the Queer

Emma Green
The Atlantic

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Hong Kong LGBT protesters say city lags behind in gay rights (Philippines)

Press
Inquirer.com

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Casual Transphobia in My Media?

Delia Melody
The Huffington Post

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WATCH: After RFRA, More Indiana Residents Support LGBT Protections

Dawn Ennis
Advocate

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This Transgender US Veteran Is Using a T-Shirt to Make a Bold Statement

Mathew Rodriguez
mic.com

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Phoenix, Arizona

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Rhode Island Medicaid Now Offering Coverage For Transgender Medical Needs

John Bender
NPR

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Ontario eases process for sex change surgery (Canada)

Keith Leslie
thestar.com

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Paranoia-Rama: Imprisonment Of Christians, The Destruction Of Financial Markets, And The Transgender Agenda

Isabel Carter-Kahn
Right Wing Watch

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Pinay transgender crowned Miss International Queen 2015 (Philippines)

Staff
www.abs-cbnnews.com

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Transgender murders in US have nearly doubled since last year, activists say

Staff
The Guardian

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Elton John Foundation donates $5m to lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender Africans suffering from HIV/AIDS (Nigeria)

Staff
Naija24/7

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Yukon transgender rights moving forward, slowly (Canada)

Staff
CBC

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Cartoonist recounts ‘How I Told My Grandma I’m Transgender’

Brigid Alverson
robot6

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Ben Carson: Create ‘Transgender Bathrooms’

Matt Wilstein
The Daily Beast

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Chennai to Get India's First Transgender Sub Inspector (India)

J. Sam Daniel Stalin
NDTV

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The Department of Education’s Common-Sense Approach to Transgender Inclusion

Scott Skinner-Thompson
Slate

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Transgender British Army officer undergoes the final stage of gender reassignment - and tweets a post-op snap from her hospital bed (UK)

Jo Tweedy
DailyMail.com

Sarah Winterbourne

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please press:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk

A sign of hope: The story of an 8-year-old transgender girl (India)

Press
Hindustan Times

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The ‘world’s first transgender beer’ has been specially made with hops that change sex (Ireland)

Press

thejournal.ie

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Reform Jews in US poised to pass resolution in support of transgender community (UK)

Press
The Guardian

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Transgenders to be included under NFSA in Odisha (India)

Staff
Hindustan Times

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HRC Global Attends ILGA-Europe Conference

Staff
HRC Global

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DC Office of Human Rights Releases Report on Transgender Discrimination in the Workplace

Hayley Miller
HRC

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Winnipeg School Division Approves Policy For Transgender Students (Canada)

Christian Aumell
CJOB

Winnipeg, Manitoba

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Feds say Illinois school district broke law by banning transgender student from girls’ locker room

Michael E. Miller

The Washington Post

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I voted... DID YOU???

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mmmmmm.... maps...

Credit:  http://www.brainstuck.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/you-are-lost.jpg

If maps are really not your thing, well, that's OK.  But if you are a map maniac like me, have I got a treat for you!  I was putzing around, when I discovered that I can select the location map in any place  with a click!  This time there's Cambridge MA, Los Angeles CA, New York City NY, Aceh Banda, Indonesia, and Topeka KS.  All you have to do is select anything that comes after "Location".  Enjoy!

Stephanie Mott of Topeka could become first transgender member of the Kansas Legislature

Bryan Lowry
The Kansas City Star

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A transgender woman in Aceh, Indonesia ducks under the cover of a headscarf

Ruth Morris
PRI

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The Fat Jew Wants You To Get To Know Him In His New Memoir 'Money, Pizza, Respect'

Sara BoboltzThe Huffington Post

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“Baby, I was born this way!”

Staff
University Times

‘Transgender in America’ shares an intimate journey

Robert Mitchell
Harvard Gazette

Tiq Milan

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please press:  http://news.harvard.edu

Four Ways to Prepare for Open Enrollment

Noel Gordon
Human Rights Campaign

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please press:  http://www.hrc.org

Transgender Tara Hudson 'ten times happier' after being moved to all-female prison (UK)

L. Churchill
Bristol Post

Tara Hudson

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Task Force celebrates Transgender Awareness Month

Steve Lee
LGBT Weekly

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please press:  http://lgbtweekly.com

Candis Cayne To Guest Star On 'The Young And The Restless'

Staff
On Top

Candis Cayne

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please press:  http://www.ontopmag.com

Gay rights battle flares in Houston over nondiscrimination ordinance

Sandhya Somashekhar
The Washington Post

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please press:  https://www.washingtonpost.com

ezs note:  If you live in Houston, Texas, please vote YES on HERO!

VOTE!!!!!!!!

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This is it.

Vote.

ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 3, 2015.

Transgender makeovers provided for free to the gender-diverse community in Canberra (Australia)

Kimberley Le Lievre
canberratimes.com.au

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please press:  http://www.canberratimes.com.au

Transgender woman's 2002 death remains unsolved

Kerry Cardoza
Sun-Times Network

Nizah Morris

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please press:  http://spectrum.suntimes.com

ezs note:  I know... the case is very cold, and a certain member of the Philadelphia police department was of NO help (*AHEM*) but Nizah Morris deserves justice NOW.  If you lived in Philadelphia in December of 2002, and have any information, please call 215-686-TIPS (8477).  Thanks.

Political promise: Transgender Sanam Fakir optimistic about getting reserved seat (Pakistan)

Press
The Express-Tribune

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Transgender grandmother and her family portrayed in photography exhibit

Staff
The Herald News

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DOJ, U.S. Dept. Of Education Support Virginia Transgender Teen In Using Boy’s Restroom At His High School

Jean Marie Abellans
ischoolguide

Gavin Grimm

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please press:  http://www.ischoolguide.com

Centerville, Massachusetts

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ezs comment #5

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Works cited:  Dispatches: The Courage to Combat Indonesia's Homophobia

Aw, crap, this is gonna be a long one...

When I think of the long, long stretch of LGBT history (and most particularly that of transgender history) there is one date which stands out in my mind: 1946.  Granted, there is a long historical tome laid out for us; Sappho was one of the earliest lesbians; Albert Cashier was involved in the Union Army and served there with distinction - we cannot ignore what he did.  However, in the days immediately following World War II, the nations of the world finally got together and formed the United Nations.  (By the way, one of the people who gathered was former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.)

When the first group of nations gathered together, it was in San Francisco.  Indonesia came soon after, 

in 1950.  Here in the United States, we quaintly like to believe in a "patchwork nation". Well, in Indonesia, the population may be less, but the people are far more diverse.  Case in point:  the province known as Aceh.  Aceh is, um, different. Located in the far western portion of one of the islands (Sumatra) it is definitely Muslim.

Meanwhile, work was continuing on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  What this document did was put into written form what a human being was, and what his/her rights were.  Its ideas were spotty at best; for example, women did not gain the full right to vote in Switzerland until 1970.  However, it was a guidepost.  What it also was to serve as a launching pad for various groups, some of which were known (for example, race and sex were mentioned in the Charter) but many of which came into being only later - elders, natives, disabled people, and, notably, the LGBT community.  

Transgender people were the latest among the populace to gain a foothold; Laverne Cox was a first actress to get an Emmy, and Caitlyn Jenner was the first Olympic champion to come out of the closet.  Even with the advances made by people voicing more loudly, it's a hard road.  Nothing against Laverne and Caitlyn, but with beauty on a 1 to 10, well, I think you know where they would wind up.  And it isn't their blessing and/or curse, really.  I remember early in the movie "Ma vie en rose" Ludovic says he wants to be pretty.  Her grandmother "corrects" her, saying "Not pretty, but handsome".

And what about beauty, anyhow?  Despite its pedestrian view of being only 'skin deep', beauty carries with it a hell of a lot of baggage.  Add to that the transgender woman's 'friends', enemies, and observers myopic attitudes regarding beauty as being somehow "subversive", you can add a few bricks to the baggage.

However, when we look at the larger picture, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is here, and isn't going anywhere.  Let's look again at the Declaration for transgender people, paraphrased:

• We are free and equal in dignity and rights. (Article 1)
• Note carefully what it says in Article 2:  "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion..."  Could it be?  Hmmm....
• We have the right to "life, liberty, and security of person." (Article 3)
• No punishment is allowed.  (Article 5)
• No one should be arbitrarily arrested. (Article 9)
• We have the right to go we want.  (Article 13)
• We have the right to seek asylum.  (italics mine) (Article 14)
• We have the right to hold our own opinions.  (Article 18)
• We have the right to form associations.  (Article 20)
• We have the right to vote.  (Article 21)

What of Indonesia's (and Aceh's) future in all this?  For better or worse, Indonesia became a signatory in 1950.  Which means, as such, Indonesia willingly took on certain duties to the international community.  By their very nature, Articles in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not supposed to be easy.  When we go to the table, by all rights, we expect difficulty.  

Aceh, as it been mentioned before, is very much a Muslim territory.  Indonesia tries to keep the whole thing together by offering Aceh "special status".  However, when they signed the agreement with the United Nations, they agreed to principles documented in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  Otherwise, it's only a piece of paper.  We don't want that.

Cheers,

Emily

Dispatches: The Courage to Combat Indonesia’s Homophobia

Kyle Knight
Human Rights Watch

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please press:  https://www.hrw.org