Events …

• The National Day of Silence was observed April 25th.

Law and legislation …

• In Montgomery County, Maryland, lawyers “involved in a challenge to the referendum on overturning the county’s new protections for transgender people were in court last week to talk about the scope and timing of the case.”
• Also in Montgomery County, Dan Furmansky of Equality Maryland “said a review of signatures collected to overturn the Montgomery County law has been hastened so it can be completed by month’s end.”
• In Massachusetts, a state legislator filed legislation to block payment for a prisoner’s sex-change operation.
• On the Isle of Mann the government has introduced draft legislation entitled The Gender Recognition Bill 2008. “The main points of the Bill include allowing a transsexual person who has been issued with a full gender recognition certificate to be legally regarded as being of their acquired gender, and that a transsexual will be able to marry a person of the opposite gender to their acquired gender.”
• In Detroit, Michigan, the City Council passed a “gender identity discrimination ordinance.”
• In Florida, “the Pinellas County Commission expanded its human rights ordinance to protect gays, lesbians and bisexuals. Included in the vote was a promise to explore expanding the ordinance to bar discrimination against the transgendered.”
• In Ventura County, California, the attorney representing the teenager accused of murdering Larry King sought to have his client tried as a juvenile. The attorney also broached the possibility of employing a “gay-panic-esque defense“, saying “he believes school administrators supported one student expressing himself and his sexuality — King — and ignored how it affected other kids, despite complaints. Cross-dressing isn’t a normal thing in adult environments, he said, yet 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds were expected to just accept it and go on.”
• In California, a transsexual former inmate settled an abuse case against the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. “The inmate suffered severe bleeding and lost more than 25 pounds after deputies didn’t give him prescribed testosterone shots in October 2004. Instead, jailers harassed the inmate, such as snapping his mug shot, taping it to a glass on which deputies had written “FEMALE” on it, according to court records.”

Employment and education …

• In Texas, a “Houston business has settled a lawsuit filed by a transgender woman who said a job offer was rescinded because the company learned she was born a man.”
• Also in Texas, Gerald Jeanmard “is suing a company he says fired him. The Port Arthur man claims he was removed from his position with KT Maintenance at the Motiva Refinery after KT found out he was becoming a woman.”
• In New York, there was a meeting in Manhattan to discuss the proposed Gender Employment Non-Discrimination Act (GENDA). Regardless of Empire State Pride Agenda “polling data showing that 78 percent of New Yorkers support the legislation,” the prospects of advancing the legislation in the state legislature this year do not seem promising.
• The Human Rights Campaign released its Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace, 2nd Edition. Prof. Jillian Weiss commented on this report in her blog.
• In the UK, The Independent published “Lonely road: Why school is hell for transgender pupils.”

Religion …

• In Texas, United Methodists met to discuss trans people.

Science …

• A research report released last week showed some evidence that how “much a mother eats at the time of conception may influence whether she gives birth to a boy or a girl … ” “The reason food intake may influence the development of one sex of infant rather than another isn’t fully understood. However, in vitro fertilization studies show that high levels of glucose encourage the growth of male embryos while inhibiting female embryos.”

People …

• In California, Victoria Kolakowski is “running for Alameda County Superior Court Judge.”
• The Gateway published a feature on University of Nebraska professor Meridith Bacon, who is the chair of the board of directors for the National Center for Transgender Equality.
• The National Center for Transgender Equality’s Mara Keisling spoke in Ohio. According to the Gay People’s Chronicle, Keisling spoke at length about (non-transgender-inclusive) ENDA and “said members of Congress should be told to reject any attempts to take transgender protection out of ENDA.”
• Between The Lines wrote about Aaron Watkins and Crystal Proxmire (”FTM? Fine by me“).
• Zagria wrote about Virginia Prince at her Gender Variant Biography blog.
• In Arizona, a “ceremony honoring the memory of Amancio Corrales will be observed with a demonstration of unity and support on May 6, the third anniversary of his murder.”
• In television news, Ugly Betty’s Rebecca Romijn and her transsexual character, Alexis Meade, will be fading out.
• In Canada, the Ottawa Sun published “A coming out party” — “In the coming months, you’re going to hear more from Ottawa’s transgendered community as it makes an effort to gain understanding and acceptance” — and accompanying articles, “Coming out the hardest part for cross-dresser,” “Escaping from the ‘fear’,” “The times, they are a changing” and “Ottawa’s one-man health care sector.”
• The New York Times published a feature on Fran and Denise Brunner from New Jersey (”Through Sickness, Health and Sex Change“).

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All these news items are archived at Transgender News, which you may find here or here.

And not from what Olivia St. John is concerned about, as I see it. A resident WorldNetDaily gadfly (to use a relatively polite term), St. John is at it once again this morning (”Homosex in a public park near you“) over “the homosexual agenda,” longtime staple fare at WND …

But in the midst of all this, the reality is that children are at serious risk as the homosexual agenda proliferates in our nation’s public schools and continues invading our public space. The homosexual movement does not view moral people as friends, but our children are strongly desired, and they represent a hub around which the homosexual movement spins.

…

Those influenced by the “rulers of the darkness of this world” are doing their best to “call evil good and good evil” by using the public airwaves, public parks and public schools to push deviant sexual practices into the faces of our innocent children.

An entire generation is at risk.

Talk about fiddlin’ while Rome burns, I wish the Ms. St. Johns out there paid more attention to what the “rulers of the darkness” are leaving for future generations — 4,000 down and a helluva payback. Yup, nevermind death and taxes, let’s worry about “transsexual sex in public parks.” Sheesh …