[Germany]
German Trans Girl Forcibly Institutionalized
Remember when I wrote about the 11 year old trans girl whose absentee father was trying to have her committed to involuntary inpatient psychiatric care because he believed she’d been “brainwashed” by her mother into having a female gender identity?
News feed: Berlin authorities endorse forced psychiatric treatment of a transsexual girl

[Canada]
Anti-bullying bills spark protests at Ontario legislature
Hundreds of Catholic and evangelical parents, led by several anti-gay religious leaders, decried Bill 13 and “homosexual sex clubs” on the steps to Queen’s Park March 29.

[Canada]
Transgendered pageant finalist Jenna Talackova set to take on Miss Universe Canada - in court (with video)
Vancouver beauty queen Jenna Talackova, who was thrust into the global spotlight after being deemed ineligible for the Miss Universe Canada because she is transgender, now has legal representation for her battle against the pageant leviathan.
[Commentary] Just turn it off
[Commentary] The Right to Dream: Jenna Talackova's Miss Universal Slight
[Commentary] Jenna Talackova: Press Conference Planned for Tuesday

[USA]
Americans Overwhelmingly Support Banning Discrimination among Federal Contractors
Americans overwhelmingly support banning discrimination among federal contractors, according to a new poll released today.

[USA]
More pressure on Obama to bar workplace discrimination
Supporters of an executive order barring discrimination against LGBT federal workers were buoyed this week by the results of a new poll showing that 73 percent of Americans support such a measure.

[USA]
9 Facts About Trans Sexual and Reproductive Health
In celebration of National LGBT Health Awareness Week, NCTE has released this preview of a fact sheet, Transgender Sexual and Reproductive Health: Unmet Needs and Barriers to Care. The full fact sheet will include policy recommendations for the medical community to improve the delivery of health care. Join our mailing list to get your copy of the final fact sheet.
NCTE Releases Trans “Know Your Rights” Health Care Guide, Celebrates LGBT Health Awareness Week

[AK, USA] [Commentary]
Alaska's Anti-Trans 'Tolerant City' Ad
If this doesn't make you throw up in your mouth, you watched it with the sound off.

[CA, USA]
News Briefs: Transgender and aging symposium Wednesday
A half-day symposium on transgender people and aging will take place Wednesday, April 4 from noon to 5:30 p.m. at the State Building, 350 McAllister Street in San Francisco.

[CA, USA]
Prison Cosmetic Surgery Bill Takes First Step
A bill that would prevent California's prison population from getting cosmetic surgery passed through the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday.
Bill Banning Sex Changes for Prison Inmates Passes Senate Committee

[CA, USA]
Alexis Rivera Dead: Transgender Rights Advocate Dies In California
California's transgender community is mourning the loss of one of its most accomplished and revered leaders this week.
Remembering Alexis Rivera

[FL, USA]
Stonewall Celebrates Transgender History Exhibit
Transgender history and culture celebrated in a series of events at Stonewall National Museum & Archives in Fort Lauderdale began Feb. 13 with the opening of the exhibition, Transitions: Gender Identity & Gender Expression in Culture & History. The museum is also featuring several important events on March 28, 29 and 30.

[GA, USA]
Ga. LGBT job bill looks to be revived next year under Gold Dome
A bill that would prohibit state employees from being fired because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender never got out of a Judiciary Committee subcommittee this year in the Georgia legislature, but plans are to continue garnering support to have it passed in a future session.
LGBT inclusive hate crimes bill introduced on last day of Ga. legislative session

[KS, USA]
Law proposed in Kansas will allow religious to veto anti-discrimination laws
A bill was passed in Kansas yesterday that its opponents claim would legalise discrimination against LGBT persons if made law.
Kansas House Republicans pass bill that OKs anti-gay discrimination
HOUSE APPROVES: Does Kansas Law Legalize Discrimination?
House gives preliminary OK to bill that supporters say preserves religious freedom, but opponents say allows discrimination

[LA, USA]
Transfer requested for gang-raped transexual prisoner who contracted HIV
The Southern Poverty Law Center wants an immediate transfer for a prisoner in the Orleans Parish Prison.
Lawyer: Prisoner is HIV positive after N.O. jail rapes

[LA, USA]
Louisiana Sex Law Violates LGBT Rights, Judge Rules
In Louisiana, the state prostitution law does not require registration as a sex offender. But Louisiana has a Crime Against Nature by Solicitation (CANS) law, which is harsher, is mainly used on black transgender and other women, and that has required those found guilty to register as sex offenders.
Judge rules La. sex law violates offenders' rights

[MI, USA]
Howell police arrest naked transgender pedestrian
Howell police arrested a woman, who lives as a man, as he walked naked down Byron Road in Howell on Friday.

[NE, USA]
Women to talk about roles of gender Thursday at UNK
Two events at the University of Nebraska at Kearney will discuss LGBTQ issues.

[NE, USA]
Omaha’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance Takes Effect Today
Omaha’s new ordinance banning discrimination in employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity go into effect today.

[NE, USA]
Supreme Court Won't Hear Case of Brandon Teena's Killer
The Supreme Court denied the appeal of John Lotter, who sits on Nebraska's death row for killing Brandon Teena, a transgender man, in a grisly 1993 triple murder depicted in the film Boys Don't Cry.

[NM, USA]
Teacher Exits After Hubbub
A transgendered former Gonzales Community School music teacher says she had the chance to keep her job after parents complained about her moonlighting as a burlesque and drag performer, but she’s instead decided to leave Santa Fe Public Schools.
Teacher's showgirl persona sparks controversy

[NY, USA] [Commentary]
Court Scores NYC Health Department for "Capriciousness" in Refusal to Issue New Birth Certificate for Transgender Applicant
Justice Paul G. Feinman of New York County Supreme Court ruled on March 16 in Birney v. NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 34 Misc.3d 1243(A), 2012 WL 975082, 2012 N.Y. Slip Op. 50520(U) (Unreported Disposition), that the City Health Department must reconsider its refusal to issue a new birth certificate to Louis Leonard Birney, a transgender man, showing his current male gender identity. The Department had rejected as inadequate proof the certified statement by Birney's surgeon that he had been through convertive surgery, and was seeking more detail about the surgical procedures as well as psychiatric reports about Birney's gender identity. According to an Associated Press report about the case published on March 26, Birney is nearly 70 years old.

[PA, USA]
Alumna reflects on transgender equality
Mara Keisling, a Penn State Alumna, returned to Penn State, this time to talk about her experiences in a once intolerant university, transgender equality and political activism Wednesday night.

[PA, USA]
Here’s the Blitz
In 2007 – at the age of 22 – upon graduating college in Philadelphia, I moved to Jersey City, N.J., to begin my career as an artist. While learning the ropes of a new city and trying desperately to find a job in New York City, I slowly discovered how LGBT friendly Jersey City was. I grabbed a job as a bartender and quickly made many new friends. These friends introduced me to a center called Hudson Pride, which brought me on as a volunteer graphic designer and treated me as a part of their family.

[TN, USA]
Understanding transgenders during ETSU Civility Week
As part of civility week at East Tennessee State University, members of the group LGBTies organized a drag show to raise understanding of what it means to be transgender.

[WI, USA]
Victory at the End of a Six-Year Transgender Rights Struggle
Earlier this week, we got the good news — the six-year battle was over. Wisconsin's anti-transgender Inmate Sex Change Prevention Act was a thing of the past. The act was a one-of-a kind law banning prison medical care for a medical condition that is unique to transgender persons. The law prevented prison doctors from ever prescribing transition-related medical treatment, including hormone therapy and sex reassignment surgery, to transgender prisoners. In May 2010, a federal district court struck the law down as unconstitutional and in August 2011, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed. The third and final act of this legal drama was the U.S. Supreme Court's denial of certiorari on Monday.