[International]
IDAHO 2012: International Zeal Met with U.S. Apathy
The World Health Organization on May 17, 1990, removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders, ushering in a new phase of international human rights organizing and demands from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

[Europe]
European Parliament strongly condemns homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe
With a large majority (430 for, 105 against), the European Parliament has adopted a resolution to condemn homophobic laws and discrimination in Europe.
Europe 'strongly condemns' anti-gay laws

[Portugal]
Petição faz regressar lei do aborto ao Parlamento
Esquerda contesta, mas só falta encontrar uma data para a discussão no hemiciclo.

[Brasil]
Exposição coletiva sobre cotidiano LGBT integra programação da Parada de SP
Coletiva de fotos artísticas mostra rotina de gays, lésbicas e trans e integra programação da Parada

[España] [Opinion]
Congreso Mundial de Familias: el negocio del odio
Llama la atención viendo la portada de eso que los cristofascistas han llamado el Congreso Mundial de Familias y que debería haberse llamado Congreso Mundial de la Homofobia: casi la totalidad de organizadores y patrocinadores son extranjeros, estadounidenses para más señas.

[Spain]
Se constituye la Federación Estatal de Transexuales
El colectivo de personas transexuales es uno de los que sufre un mayor índice de discriminación y exclusión social en este país y ciertamente uno de los que es objeto de mayor violencia.

[UK]
Krause is also subject to a 10-year restraining order
A transsexual who was ordered to do community service in a graveyard after harrassing her neighbour has had her punishment slashed after complaining the lawn mower she has to push is too heavy.

[UK] [Commentary]
Hit & Miss: should non-transgender actors play transgender characters?
Chloë Sevigny plays a transgender assassin in the new series. Paris Lees, who is trans, also went for the part

[Latvia]
Baltic Pride in Latvia will not be banned
Gay rights campaigners hail decision not to ban pride event in Riga as a 'sign of change'

[Lithuania]
ILGA-Europe tracks Lithuania's LGBT rights development
International LGBTI rights organization, ILGA-Europe, has recently published an annual report, assessing and comparing situation of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex) people in European countries.

[Russia]
Anti-Gay Protesters Attack Immigrants
An authorized International Day Against Homophobia rally held in Petrovsky Park on the Petrograd Side of the city was broken up by ultranationalists and Orthodox radicals and ended with attacks and mass beatings Thursday.

[Russia]
Kaliningrad region may pass anti-gay law
The Kaliningrad region's parliament will consider an amendment to the region's Code of Administrative Violations, which envisions fines for "homosexual propaganda" and pedophilia.

[Africa]
LGBT rights worsen in Africa: Amnesty
Discrimination against gay and gender-diverse people has “worsened” in Africa due to homophobic laws and escalating persecution, Amnesty International has reported.

[Zimbabwe]
Zimbabwe's president dismisses gay rights
Zimbabwe's president said Thursday that homosexuality doesn't belong in Zimbabwe and it violates women's rights by denying the union of men and women needed to bear children.

[Nepal]
Nepal to recognize LGBTIs as 'others'
Nepal has become the third country in Asia after India and Bangladesh to grant separate recognition to sexual minorities based on their gender identities.
Nepalese government to recognize third gender
Nepal's gays, lesbians get citizenship status

[India]
After sex change op venue shift, Barua wants counselling at Sion Hospital
After attending two pre-surgery counselling sessions at JJ Hospital, Bidhan Barua has dropped out of the phsycological evaluation sessions from the hospital and now plans to start afresh at the BMC-run Sion Hospital.

[Canada] [Commentary]
Why I Did an About-Face and Boarded the Jenna Talackova PR Train
Transgender Miss Universe Canada contestant Jenna Talackova cracked the top 12 in the final night of the pageant. Although she didn't win, I was rooting for her the entire way, because over the past few weeks I've come to realize that you can't buy this kind of positive PR. And when such an opportunity comes your way, you've got to milk it for all it's worth to win the hearts and minds of those wary of all things trans.
[Commentary] Beauty Pageants and Natural Women
Miss Colombia disapproves of transgender beauty pageant contestants

[Canada]
Rights code beefed up to include transgender, poor folks
The province's human rights code will be changed so transgender Manitobans and those with a "disadvantaged social status" will be protected from discrimination, Justice Minister Andrew Swan said Wednesday.
Poor and transgendered to be protected under Manitoba human rights code

[USA]
Transgender at five: Tyler’s story leads to outpouring of other stories
I heard from transgendered senior citizens who lamented their decades living a lie.
I got e-mails from confused parents who had their aha moment when they read Tyler’s story.
And sure, I heard from the haters. The Internet troll employment benefits package apparently doesn’t offer vacation days, so they’re always there.
Transgender children: Learning to listen to their reality
[Commentary] Age 5 Is Not too Early to Learn Your Child Might Be Transgender

[USA]
Will ExxonMobil Finally Protect its LGBT Workers?
Shareholders and leaders of ExxonMobil, recently named to the top position on the Fortune 500, has continuously voted against introducing LGBT-inclusive antidiscrimination policies. Will that finally change this May?

[USA]
NCTE’s Mara Keisling Shares Personal Story and Discusses Transgender Issues on Penn State’s Conversations
On May 10th, NCTE Executive Director and Penn State University alumna Mara Keisling sat with Patty Satalia, host of “Conversations from Penn State,” to talk about her personal story, issues facing transgender people, and what NCTE is doing to make a difference. In describing her story, Keisling said “I always like to say I was born, because I think not everybody understands that transgender people are just people like everybody else.” She went on to highlight her personal journey, her fears, and coming out to her family.

[USA]
Critical Transgender Concerns Awaiting Action at the Social Security Administration
Late last week, the ACLU joined a letter to the Social Security Administration (SSA) drafted by our coalition partners at the National Center for Transgender Equality. The letter expresses a shared concern over a lack of action from SSA on several policy matters of critical importance to transgender people and their families.

[USA]
Congressman Rothman Introduces the Juror Non-Discrimination Act
Congressman Steve Rothman (NJ-9) introduced the Juror Non-Discrimination Act (HR 5848) on May 18, 2012. This bill would bar discrimination against jurors on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

[USA] [Commentary]
A Penis and a Dress: Why the Gender Binary Needs to Go Away
If your genitalia don't match the gender you most identify with, the American Psychiatric Association slaps you with the weighted label "gender identity disorder." There's current dialogue around changing the label to "gender incongruence," but it still boils down to the same ignorance: Society is placing judgment on you because you don't play by the rules.

[USA] [Commentary]
Transgendered Alaskan Male Hayden Nevill Considered A Male On His Passport, But A Female On His Alaska Driver's License, And The Alaska DMV Won't Budge
Hayden Nevill, a transgendered Alaskan who identifies as a male, has a legitimate beef. The U.S. Department of State is willing to accept his self-identity as a male, so his passport indicates he's a male. However, the Alaska Department of Motor Vehicles is not willing to accept his self-identity as a male, so his driver's license indicates he's a female. So in situations where he needs to use his driver's license as his official I.D., such as renting a vehicle, it can lead to some interesting and uncomfortable experiences, which he describes in an Anchorage Daily News Compass piece entitled "Transgender Alaskans' privacy imperiled".

[USA]
Warren Beatty's transgender son Stephen 'having second thoughts about taking final step in sex change'
Warren Beatty's transgender son Stephen Ira, is said to be having 'second thoughts' about taking the final step in his sex change.
According to The National Enquirer, the 20-year-old student and activist 'has put his sex change plans on hold.'
A family insider told the publication: 'He suddenly misses his feminine side, dressing up and wearing make-up and jewellery.

[USA]
First openly transgender athlete competing for spot on American Olympic team
Keelin Godsey has an impressive record: he’s a two-time NCAA national hammer champion and took 5th at last year's USA Track & Field championship, among other accomplishments. However, what makes Godsey stand out is that he used to be a she.

[AR, USA]
Holder orders women's restrooms open to male
On orders from Barack Obama’s Department of Justice, officials with the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith have given permission for a 38-year-old man to use the women’s restrooms on campus.
EXCLUSIVE: Obama's DOJ Forces University to Allow 38 Year Old Male To Access Women's Restrooms
DOJ pressures university to allow 38-year old man access to women’s restrooms

[CA, USA]
Advocacy day draws trans folks, allies to Capitol
More than 50 transgender Californians and non-U.S. residents gathered at the West Steps of the Capitol in Sacramento Monday, May 21 as they prepared to lobby legislators on behalf of two bills aimed at addressing discrimination against transgender youth in California's foster care system and non-US residents victims of crime who risk deportation under federal law.

[IL, USA]
Illinois: Antibullying Bill Rejected From Fears of Being Too Pro-Gay
Illinois legislators rejected an antibullying bill after conservatives expressed fears that the proposed law was too "pro-homosexual."

[MA, USA]
Homegrown trans rocker Evan Greer keeps her music political
Last month, when Tommy Gabel of Against Me! announced via Rolling Stone that she's transgender (and will now go by Laura Jane Grace), I immediately wondered what Evan Greer might be thinking.

[PA, USA]
Trans-Health Conference Returns to Philly
This month marks the 11th anniversary of Mazzoni Center‘s Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference (PTHC) from May 31 to June 2 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. What began in 2002 as a one-day gathering of transgender activists, allies and service providers, has grown to become the largest transgender conference in the world. Last June, the free event drew as many as 2,000 attendees from around the world to participate in educational and social activities.

[PR, USA]
Cumbre policiaca por robo a transexual a manos de supuestos agentes
El superintendente de la Policía, Héctor Pesquera, sostendrá hoy una reunión con personal de la División de Asuntos Internos y otros funcionarios policiacos involucrados en la investigación del robo a la transexual Ivana Fred Millán para determinar las acciones administrativas que se tomarán ante la presunción de que fueron uniformados los que cometieron el atraco.
Policías y sargentos quedan retratados tras denuncia de allanamiento ilegal

[PR, USA]
Transsexual prostitutes struggle to survive in ‘Bayamón Oeste’
Within “Zone of Excellence” praised by Gov. Luis Fortuño after the U.S. Department of Justice bashed the Puerto Rico State Police in September 2011, a zone of sexual mystery and erotic anarchy resides in the northern city of Bayamón.

[Mexico]
Logros en el día contra la homofobia en Michoacan
El pasado 17 de mayo, Día Internacional de Lucha contra la Homofobia, Grupo de Facto realizó diversas acciones, tanto en Michoacán como en la Ciudad de México.

[Mexico]
Transfobia: Las Otras Muertas
Eran aproximadamente las dos de la tarde cuando un niño pastor se topó con el cadáver de una mujer. El cuerpo semidesnudo presentaba una herida a lo largo del cuello, brazo derecho y en el costado izquierdo; además de varias huellas de tortura, algunas quemaduras, lo que enseguida llamó la atención de las autoridades.

[Haiti]
First National Congress against Homophobia in Haiti
The LGBT community in Haiti gathered more than three hundred men and women of sexual orientation stigmatized by Haitian society to tell the country to cease discriminatory practices against them.

[Perú]
Chico Peruano sentía que su pene le estorbaba… Y se lo cortó
La Noticia es impactante y triste, pues da cuenta del poco apoyo que reciben los jóvenes en nuestros países a la hora de afrontar su orientación sexual. El hecho sucedió en Trujillo, Perú, en donde un chico llamado Alberto Flores Guerrero, de 20 años, decidió cortarse él mismo el pene porque, simplemente le estorbaba. Los medios han calificado a Alberto como un joven homosexual, pero algunos sicólogos que se han pronunciado sobre el tema, coinciden en que, probablemente, este sea un caso de transexualidad o disforia de género ya que el Alberto no estaba para nada cómodo con su órgano sexual.

[Chile]
Histórico: Estado pagará cirugías de readecuación corporal de personas transexuales
Así se acordó hoy en reunión entre el ministro de Salud, Jaime Mañalich, y el Movilh, tras una propuesta de esa organización al Minsal que se venía trabajando desde el 2007 y que viene cumpliendo sus principales metas desde el año pasado. En tanto, y tras una denuncia de discriminación, Mañalich aceptó emitir un instructivo que aclare que los homosexuales no pueden ser impedidos de donar sangre en los servicios públicos y privados de Salud.
El Estado pagará las cirugías de cambio de sexo
Mañalich anuncia que Fonasa ofrecerá prestaciones de salud a transexuales

[Argentina]
Buscan garantizar la identidad de género en territorio bonaerense
Se desarrolló un encuentro en la Casa de la Provincia entre representantes gubernamentales y de la comunidad homosexual y transexual. “Desde la Jefatura de Gabinete que conduce Alberto Pérez iniciamos un trabajo conjunto para garantizar el derecho a la identidad de género y el libre desarrollo de la persona”, señaló Juan Pablo Álvarez Echagüe. Aún se aguarda por la reglamentación de la Ley Nacional, que permitirá el cambio de identidad sexual en el DNI en los registros civiles.