Transgender men and women will be an officially protected class in Massachusetts now that Governor Deval Patrick signed an important equal rights bill Wednesday. The newly-enacted legislation will forbid any discrimination based on gender identity. The law will also extend criminal prosecution statues to include hate crimes and acts of violence against transgender men and…
Major League Baseball has adopted a new non-discrimination policy to include gay players as a part of their protected classes, The New York Daily News reports. The MLB and the Major League Baseball Players’ Association amended Article XV of the agreement which was due to renew this year. In addition to protecting “race, color, religion…
The Laugh Out Proud Comedy Show, San Diego’s only comedy show geared toward the LGBT community returns Dec. 8 and features four LGBT comedians, including headliner Shann Carr. With 20 years of gay stand up experience under her belt, lesbian comedian Shann Carr’s storytelling style has always had her audiences rolling in the aisles. Shann,…
Although construction has been down considerably for most of the Great Recession, this month has seen more than $200 million of commercial and government projects in the planning and post-bid phase of development, according to Reed Construction Data. Most projects are “ground-up,” but because preserving San Diego’ historic and culturally meaningful structures continues to gain…
NEW YORK – In a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by prominent local politicians and community leaders, The Asian and Pacific Islanders Coalition on HIV/AIDS (APICHA), one of New York’s most progressive community health centers, has opened a transgender clinic. The groundbreaking APICHA Transgender Clinic, made possible by a generous three-year grant from the Paul Rapoport Foundation,…
BOSTON – The Massachusetts Legislature has passed the Transgender Equal Rights bill. The bill adds protections to the state’s civil rights laws against discrimination in employment, housing, education and credit based on gender identity or expression and adds gender identity and expression to the state’s hate crimes law. The bill now moves to the governor’s…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A report to be fully released in December aims to examine discrimination against LGBT people in Anchorage, Alaska. In August 2009, the Anchorage Assembly had passed an ordinance by a vote of 7-4 that would ban discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity in issues of housing and employment….
KATHMANDU, Nepal – Filming has just finished on, Snow Flowers, a lesbian love story being dubbed “Brokeback Everest” and set to be the first gay feature film in the 60-year history of Nepalese cinema. The movie, due for general release in the spring, is directed by Paris-based film-maker Suwarna Thapa, and stars Nepal’s leading actresses,…
In Erie, Pa., everyone roots for two teams on a college football Saturday: Notre Dame and whoever is playing Penn State, or Penn State and whoever is playing Notre Dame. Having spent a summer in University Park during high school, I chose the latter. Through medical school and graduate school, I went to the Penn…
