Queer Notes

Vermont's legislature made same-sex marriage legal on April 7, overriding the governor's veto. Vermont was the first state to create civil unions for Gay and Lesbian couples. The House of New Hampshire passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in late March. It remains to be seen if it will pass the Senate.

* * *

"Harsh Realities: The Experiences of Transgender Youth in Our Nation's Schools" finds that Transgender students experience more abuse than their Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay peers. Ninty percent of Transgender students are victims of verbal abuse and more than 50% of physical abuse because of gender expression. This first comprehensive study on Transgender students also found that teachers and school administration frequently contribute to the harassment or don't intervene when Transgender students are being harassed. While harassment and abuse explain why Transgender students have lower grade point averages and school attendance, hope and courage explain why they are also more likely than Gay and Lesbian students to speak out about their harassment and GLBT issues.

* * *

Charity group ActionAid's "Hate Crimes" reports that Lesbians are increasingly being raped. Because South Africa's criminal justice system does not acknowledge hate crimes based on sexual orientation, it is believed that the number of rapes to "cure" Lesbians is higher than the number reported.

* * *

Prominent Lambda Istanbul Transgender activist Ebru Soykau was murdered in March. The man, from whom Ms. Soykau had asked for police protection after he beat and threatened to kill her, is being held. Only a few weeks before her murder, police detained the accused man for only two hours, which is better protection than most Transgender people get from Turkish authorities. In 2007 Lambda was told by Istanbul's then deputy governor that there were no records of several reports of violence against Transgender people.

* * *

Nigerian Lesbians and Gays courageously testified publicly against pending legislation that will imprison same-sex couples married anywhere and returning to Nigeria or anyone married to a same-sex partner traveling to Nigeria. In a country notorious for oppressing LGBT people, Rashidi Williams, 23, of Queer Alliance of Nigeria, testified at the National Assembly public hearings that, "This bill is not necessary, we see no reason why people should be criminalized." If passed, those convicted could spend as much as three years in prison.

--Information from 365Gay.com

* * *

Public universities and LGBT rights activists can keep anti-bias policies regarding sexual orientation, according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The University of California's Hastings College of Law's refusal to recognize a branch of the Christian Legal Society, which bans membership to Gays and Lesbians, was upheld.

* * *

Debra Taylor resigned her teaching job at Grandfield High School in Oklahoma after being told to stop her students' project to film their own clips about the film The Laramie Project, based on the play of the same name that tells of the aftermath of Matthew Shepard's brutal murder. Her students rallied in her defense, held a funeral for the cancelled project, enclosed notes of their reflections into helium balloons which they released into the air.

Home l News & Letters Newspaper l Back issues l News and Letters Committees l Raya Dunayevskaya l Contact us l Search l RSS

Subscribe to News & Letters

Published by News and Letters Committees