Our Concerns
The House has postponed the vote on ENDA that was scheduled to take place this week. This means that while we were initially working on a very tight deadline to make contacts and that we had a specific date in mind, now we have more time to make much needed contacts with our key Indiana targets. Of course, you should continue to contact your Representative (yes, even if you have already!), but making contact with
Joe Donnelly (202) 225-3915
Brad Ellsworth (202) 225-4636
and Baron Hill (202) 225-5315
is especially important. If you are at all inclined to pick up the phone, place a call to one of these Representatives first.
1.Voting on hate crimes bill in Senate sidelined
The voting on the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007, the bill that was filed by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and if passed would protect gay and trans people across the nation, was postponed by the Senate in order to focus on other amendments relating the Iraq war.
Read more at the Washington Blade website
2.Metis (trans women) get assaulted by Nepalese police
The Nepalese police in Kathmandu assaulted three young metis (trans women) when they were found to be carrying condoms. This assault came not even a year after around thirty gays and metis were assaulted and mistreated by the police in Kathmandu.
1. Cross-dresser mistaken for a stalker
A cross-dresser in Oxford, England, was physically assaulted when mistaken for a stalker by Lee Carney, who assumed was following his girlfriend. It was the first time the victim had ever been public in women’s clothing.
Read more at the This is Cheshire website
2. Cuba to update same-sex and trans-rights
Cuba’s government is planning an update on its Family Code to extend rights to gay and trans people. If approved, gay and lesbian couples would get the same rights as heterosexual couples, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Read more at the Workers World website
1. San Francisco to provide better service to the trans community
San Francisco’s Department of Public Health along with University of California will be offering new services to the city’s trans-community.
Read more at the Bay Area Reporter website
1. Madrid’s EuroPride attracts millions
Madrid’s EuroPride, an event that concluded this past weekend after 10 days of celebration, attracted more than 1.5 million visitors from around the world. The event coincided with the Spanish capital city’s own Pride event and other pride events in Paris and in the UK.
Read more at the Monsters and Critics website
1. Trans March kicks off San Francisco Bay Area Pride weekend
For the fourth year in a row, the annual Trans March, which is expected to attract nearly 10,000 people, is to kick off San Francisco Bay Area Pride weekend.
Read more at the Bay Area Reporter website
2. Four lesbians sentenced for self-defense
Four African-American lesbians in New York City were sentenced to time in prison ranging from three-and-a-half to 11 years for defending themselves from two sexual predators last August.
Read more at the Workers World website
Today, the Indiana House of Representatives killed the marriage discrimination amendment, SJR-7, meaning a great victory for the LGBT community in Indiana. With a tied in committee, the bill was not allowed to the floor for a vote.
The Equality Act, protecting LGB people from discrimination in regards to goods and services, well come into effect on April 30, 2007. Transgender discrimination has not been addressed.
Groups call upon State Attorney’s Office to immediately drop charges
WASHINGTON DC, March 1 — The two largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights organizations — the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Human Rights Campaign — today condemned the Feb. 27 arrest and detention of Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. Smith was arrested during a heated hearing before the Largo City Commission in Florida, during which the commission voted 5–2 to begin the process of firing its 14-year city manager, Steve Stanton, because he announced his plans to transition from male to female.
As of December 20, 2006, the Human Rights Commission in Columbus, Indiana is now receiving complaints based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"Commissioners unanimously voted in favor of the resolution amending the rules and regulations to change 'handicap' language to 'disability,' add voluntary mediation for age discrimination, and include voluntary mediation for sexual orientation and gender identity," stated Arlette Cooper Tinsley, the Director of the Columbus Human Rights Commission.
