[International]
Amidst Setbacks for LGBTs, Human Rights Language Emerges in United Nations
Excerpt: Just last week, in Geneva, UNAIDS and the Global Fund announced their intention to roll out their “Sexual Orientation and Gender Equality Strategy”. Also revealed were Human Rights declarations specifically naming “men who have sex with men (MSMs)” and Transgender persons. It was also reported that in May 2009, the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Regional Directors Group, representing ten distinct UN agencies, honored the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) by issuing a joint call to eliminate homophobia.

[UK]
Minister hints at same-sex marriage for transsexuals
Transsexuals could be granted official recognition of their assumed sex and remain married to an existing partner, an equalities minister has suggested.
Lynne Featherstone, writing on her blog over the weekend, also revealed that she supports making hostility towards transsexuals an aggravating factor in future prosecutions for ‘hate crimes’.
The possibility of transsexuals being allowed to remain married after their sex change has been legally recognised would in effect create official same-sex marriages in the UK for the first time.

[UK]
Transsexual spared jail because of risk of attack
A transsexual who downloaded child pornography has been spared jail after a judge said that time in prison would be an "appalling experience" for her.
Laura Voyce, 20, who has changed her name from Luke, could have been locked up for nine months after being convicted of 14 counts of downloading indecent images of children. (Photo)
Trans woman spared prison over child abuse images
Sex-swap paedo freed by judge as jail time would be too 'appalling'
Sex-swap lets porn pervert dodge prison
Transsexual pervert who downloaded child porn escapes jail because judge says it would be 'an appalling experience for her'

[UK]
How do you tell your family you are transgender?
Soon she would have a different body, a different voice, and a different name .... How would Juliet Jacques tell her parents that their son was becoming their daughter?

[USA]
Angie Zapata: Two years after her death, LGBTQ murders at second-highest rate in a decade
Saturday will mark two years since transgender Greeley teen Angie Zapata was beaten to death by a man she met on the Internet. Zapata's killer, Allen Andrade, was found guilty of murder; the jury also convicted him of a hate crime.
Zapata isn't alone. In 2009, twenty-two LGBTQ people were murdered, according to a report released today. Of those, 79 percent were minorities and most were transgender women.

[USA]
NCAVP Releases 2009 Hate Crimes Statistics
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) has released its statistics regarding LGBTQ hate violence for 2009. According to their report, twenty-two victims of hate murder were reported by the NCAVP, and this may not reflect the full number as hate crimes tend to go under reported. One police district was recording rapes under a different category so as not to have to worry about all of the potential testing and paperwork involved in a rape case.

[USA]
Candis Cayne, Glamorous 'Diva'
Candis Cayne is the first transgender actor to play a recurring transgender character on prime time television. Nunn on One talked to the sweet diva herself.

[CA, USA]
Judge Demands King Murder Trial Begin
Two and a half years after the shooting death of gay California teen, Lawrence King, a jury may finally decide the fate of his alleged killer, Brandon McInerney.

[ID, USA]
Transgender woman at odds with police accused of planting pipe bombs
A transgender woman who police say planted what appeared to be pipe bombs at her southwestern Idaho home is the first person to be charged under a new law targeting hoax explosive devices.
Woman is first charged under Idaho hoax bomb law
Payette bomb suspect arraigned
[Commentary] Transwoman Arrested After Setting Home, Car on Fire, Running Through Streets Naked
Woman Feuding With Cops Over Trans Status Sets Car On Fire, Runs Down Highway Naked

[MA, USA]
Transgender advocates urge passage of bill
Transgender advocates are preparing to gather at the Statehouse to urge state legislators to pass a bill that would grant transgender people increased legal protections.
The Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition is scheduled to hold a press conference Wednesday at 11 a.m. to recommend the passage of legislation before July 31 that would add "gender identity and expression" to the state’s nondiscrimination laws.

[NC, USA]
Transgender issue leads club to cancel membership
Besides the obvious, life was different when Rachael Gieschen was a man. Gieschen had a membership to a beach-side club in Wrightsville Beach, founded a century ago by her family, and was part of a tight-knit local German community.
But now 69-year-old Gieschen, who transitioned physically three years ago to live as a woman, is left hurt and feeling discriminated against after the board of directors for Hanover Seaside Club decided to cancel her membership, citing reasons such as members expressing “agitation and concern” about Gieschen's presence as a woman. (Photo)

[OH,USA]
Police: Teen Beaten After Trying To Rob Cross-Dresser
A 15-year-old robbery suspect is in custody after trying to rob a man dressed as a woman in Over-the Rhine.
Cincinnati police said the robbery happened at about 4 a.m. Tuesday in the 200 block of McMicken Avenue.
Joshua Bumpus, who goes by the name "Jerica,"was shot in the arm and robbed of $10. But Bumpus didn't give up easily. He then grabbed the gun and started beating the suspect, police said.
The teen was also sprayed with Mace before police arrived. (Photo)

[Peru]
Peru Pride gets Oz support
The Australian Consulate in Peru has signed a group statement in support of GLBT rights.
The statement, co-signed by the Belgian, Dutch, Czech, Swedish, American and British embassies and the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS in time for this month’s Lima Pride, expresses “support and solidarity with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community of Peru” in their efforts to end discrimination on the basis of sexuality and gender identity in the Andean nation.