Some of the trans-related news we’re reading today, Wednesday …

#1 – The Nigerian cross-dressers (Nigerian men could face death penalty for ‘gay marriage’, Transvestite Court Drama Stuns Nigeria, Mob Tries To Lynch Men Awaiting Sentencing For Homosexuality, Cross-dressing trial stalls in Nigeria sharia court) are in the news again …

The 18 men accused of dressing up as women in a Shaira court have been rearrested and recharged.

The men were granted bail by a Tudun Alkali Sharia court judge last month. Yesterday they were remanded in custody in a court session that was closed to the public.

The case has been transferred from the state ministry of justice to being prosecuted by the Police CID, lawyers said.

Parading the suspects before the upper Sharia court one the police prosecutor Mohammed Baba Sarki told the court that the police charged the suspects with “idleness and vagabond, organizing unlawful society gathering, criminal conspiracy, and indecent acts”

…

Nigeria: Bauchi Cross-Dressing Men Re-Arrested, Served Fresh Charges

One would hope for their sakes that “indecent acts” does not include sodomy, for which — should they be convicted — sharia law evidently prescribes a penalty of death by stoning.

#2 – Two stories of interest from Australia today, both involving marriage and official documents …

A transsexual who transitioned from male to female in 2002 has been handed a difficult choice by Australia’s Federal Court – either divorce your wife or keep your male designation of official documents.

The woman, known only in court documents as AB, had been married for several years before she felt comfortable enough to accept her transgenderism. With the support of her wife she began transitioning and completed her surgery in April 2002.

Three years later she applied to the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages in the state of Victoria to have her sex changed from male to female on her birth certificate.

Her request was rejected on the grounds she was married.

The registrar cited Australia’s ban on same-sex marriage as the reason.

In 2004 the Australian government passed legislation defining marriage as between a man and a woman and Prime Minister John Howard has refused to consider national civil union legislation.

AB took the case to court.

Her lawsuit claimed the registrar discriminated against her on the grounds of marital status and because she is a woman. She also claimed the decision contravened the national Sex Discrimination Act.

Her case was dismissed by a Federal Court justice and AB appealed.

Now, a three justice panel again dismissed the case.

The situation faced by AD and her wife is the second slam taken recently by transsexuals in Australia. The federal government will not permit transitioning transsexuals to have their corrected sex indicated on passports.

Last month a transsexual preparing to leave for sex reassignment surgery in Thailand said the government is endangering her life by refusing to give her a passport identifying her as female. (story)

Australian Transsexual In ‘Catch 22′

and …

The Federal Government has refused to issue a post-operative trans woman a female passport on the basis that she is married to a woman.

Grace Abrams last week appealed the decision by Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Abrams, who married her long-term partner Fiona Power using her male birth certificate, will have a legally recognised same-sex marriage if she wins the case.

Abrams, born Gregory Anthony Abrams, began a relationship with Power in 2000. Between 2001 and 2005, Abrams underwent the transition to female, officially changing her name to Grace in 2002.

Abrams married Power in 2005, before obtaining an interim passport in her intended sex to undergo gender reassignment surgery in Thailand.

On returning to Australia as a female, Abrams applied to the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages to register the change of sex. A female birth certificate was refused on the basis she was married.

Shortly after, Abrams armed herself with documentation that proved she was a woman, including medical certificates and statutory declarations, and lodged an application for an amended passport through the Australian Passport Office.

Not only was her valid interim female passport destroyed, Abrams was told she could be issued with a passport in the male gender only. She was later informed she could not be issued with a valid passport in the female gender because she could not provide a birth certificate showing the gender of reassignment.

All Australian citizens, including Abrams, are entitled to a passport if they can prove their identity and citizenship.

Abrams’s lawyer David Shoebridge said if a trans person is not married, the Department of Births Deaths and Marriages would issue a birth certificate in the new gender.

“The Minister relied upon the failure of Grace Abrams to provide an amended birth certificate as the reason for refusing her application,” he said.

“That is purely a policy position taken by the Passport Office and is not founded in any legal requirements.”

Lawyers acting on behalf of the government told the Tribunal that Abrams could not be issued with a female passport because she did not have an amended birth certificate. They said the Minister was not satisfied Abrams was a woman.

However, it was acknowledged in the government’s Statement of Facts that the Minister was not bound to the policy.

Abrams said it was not fair to force trans people to choose between having their marriage or post-operative gender recognised.

“It is inhuman and unjust,” she said.

The verdict will be handed down in about two weeks.

Passport Snub ‘Unjust’

#3 – In another document-related story, the City of San Francisco may be looking at issuing ID cards …

San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano introduced an ordinance Tuesday to give every person living in San Francisco the option of obtaining a city-issued identification card …

San Francisco would be the second U.S. city to implement such a card. New Haven, Conn., began issuing city cards earlier this summer.

The proposal also has the support of activists in the transgender community – as the card would not include a specified gender – and from advocates for homeless people.

Identification card measure intended to help ‘invisible’ immigrants

and …

While this law would greatly help undocumented immigrants, the municipal ID’s would be available to all San Franciscans. This is intentional, said Ammiano, because we do not want immigrants targeted because they have these ID’s. Moreover, other groups have difficulty with ID’s – seniors who no longer drive, homeless who need services, and transgenders who may not have their status recognized and suffer from harassment.

“It is a gesture to bring all folks out of the shadows,” said Kristina Wertz of the Transgender Law Center, a non-profit group that assists transgenders with various legal problems. “ID’s that accurately reflect one’s own gender and one’s name are important. We thank Supervisor Ammiano and his staff for including the trans community.”

San Francisco Values: Municipal ID Cards

#4 – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has released its sixth annual Corporate Equality Index …

The Index is used by the LGBT rights organisation to rate employers on a scale from 0 to 100 percent on their treatment of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees, consumers and investors.

The 195 businesses that met all of the criteria employ more than
8.3 million workers.

When the Index was first released in 2002 only 13 companies, employing 690,000 workers, received the top rating.

…

The movement in corporate America toward equality in the workplace has prompted a coalition of corporations and civil rights groups to form the Business Coalition for Workplace Fairness aimed at leveling the playing field by enacting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

ENDA – which is scheduled to be considered by the full U.S. House of Representatives later this month – would ban workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

“In the next few weeks, Congress will vote on federal legislation that U.S. employers have already overwhelmingly embraced,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “It’s the right thing to do for our economy and for our country.”

…

Ratings are based on factors like non-discrimination policies, diversity training and benefits for domestic partners and transgender employees.

Among the findings of this year’s report:

For the first time, a majority of rated firms – 58 percent – provide
employment protections on the basis of gender identity.

…

Corporate America ready for ENDA

#5 – The quote of the day belongs to “Citizen,” commenting on a story, “Job Bias Bill Privileges Gays Over Faithful, Warn Christians,” in The Christian Post …

“Calling discrimination “religion” does not lessen the pain of people subject to it. Your right to swing your fist and call it a religion ends at my nose.”