Nov. 2 2012 I received a letter from the California Department of Public Health, Vital Records. In that letter came proof that I was “born again.” I was born female. You see, the gender listed on my original birth certificate was male, and my name was my given, male name. The gender listed on the…
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced an agreement with Bank of America (BOA) to settle a claim that the mortgage lender refused to provide financing to a lesbian couple. The agreement is the first enforcement action taken against a lender involving HUD’s recent rule ensuring that the Department’s…
(CNN) — The American Psychiatric Association announced this month approved changes in its official guide to classifying mental illnesses. Among the major announced changes to the manual, known as DSM-5, is that Asperger’s syndrome will now be included in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder “to help more accurately and consistently diagnose children with autism,”…
Saturday, Dec. 2, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced that their governing body has voted to replace Gender Identity Disorder (GID) with Gender Dysphoria (GD). It’s a milestone for transgender and transsexual people, as well as for those who identify as both transgender and transsexual; the decision has medical, political and psychiatric implications. From a…
(CNN) – The wait is over for Pope Benedict XVI’s many Twitter followers, and they have been quick to respond to the much anticipated first Tweet from his personal account Wednesday morning. Using the handle @Pontifex — meaning “bridge builder” in Latin — he posted: “Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with…
What I believe we can’t have enough of is leadership training for our young, as well as our older, newly-out future leaders in the LGBT community. And, given that the only national LGBT non-profit organization with a trans person at the helm is OutServe-SLDN, more leadership training to develop and prepare more trans people to…
(CNN) – When Sophia Bailey-Klugh, a 10-year-old San Diegan, invited President Barack Obama to dinner, she didn’t get a response. So when he replied to her second letter – this one thanking him for his position on same-sex marriage–the girl with two fathers was really surprised. One of Sophia’s fathers, Jonathan Bailey, posted the letter…
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRCF) today released it 2013 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) in which a record 252 businesses achieved the top rating of 100 percent, earning the coveted distinction of “Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality.” As a point of comparison, 13 businesses earned a 100 percent in the inaugural CEI 11…
WASHINGTON — The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), released today its first-ever index of inclusion within a faith-based community. The Jewish Organization Equality Index (JOEI) provides benchmarks for gauging, and resources for improving, LGBT inclusivity policies and practices of North American Jewish communal organizations. Key findings from the index create a preliminary snapshot of how a…
Many in the LGBT community aren’t aware that there is a Transgender Pride Flag. It’s flown at transgender specific events; it can be seen each year at the San Diego Pride festival at the transgender booth. It’s a flag that visually symbolizes the T subcommunity of the LGBT community in a manner similar to how…
