[Europe]
‘Safe Country’ List and ‘Fast Track Asylum Procedures must not endanger trans refugee
Transgender Europe welcomes the EU Parliament’s highlight of the situation of trans asylum seekers in a Report on women refugees and asylum seekers in the EU, [1] adopted today on occasion of the International Women’s Day.

[Europe]
IWD 2016: TGEU releases fact sheet on Trans Rights & Gender Equality
“Root causes of misogyny & transphobia are the same”

[Canada]
Special report: Gender neutral conversation shifting into drive
Let’s start in the washroom because it is a place to which we all can relate.

[Canada]
Some school boards slow to respond to gender policy
Alberta’s school boards have had more than a year to create policies protecting gay, lesbian and transgender students. But some have just recently asked parents for their ideas.

[Canada]
Alberta bishop sends gvmt strong warning on gender mandate: Never get between a bear and her cubs
In a move signaling that Alberta bishops have no plans to compromise on their strong stand against anti-Christian "gender ideology" in Catholic schools, the province’s most outspoken bishop on the matter has issued a warning to the government: attempting to force Catholic schools to comply with suggested transgender guidelines would be as foolish as coming between a mother bear and her cubs.

[Canada]
GYPSD argues over transgender bathroom use
Trustees couldn’t agree on their definition of what student safety meant at Wednesday’s Grande Yellowhead Public School Division (GYPSD) public board meeting.

[USA]
Second Wachowski filmmaker sibling comes out as trans
The second sibling of the filmmaking duo known as The Wachowskis has come out as transgender.
Lilly Wachowski, 48, sibling of Lana, 50, came out in a statement to Windy City Times, after being threatened with outing by other media.
Lilly Wachowski Comes Out as Transgender
The Matrix Filmmaker Lilly Wachowski Comes Out As Transgender
Daily Mail inadvertently publishes claim that own journalist 'coerced' transgender woman

[USA]
No, Caitlyn Jenner, Ted Cruz Will Not Help Trans People Get Jobs
Since her very public coming out last year, Caitlyn Jenner has committed herself to raising the visibility of transgender people. In some ways, including her E! docuseries I Am Cait (which soon returns for season two), she has been successful, but her insistence on supporting Republicans that are openly hostile to trans rights continues to taint her credibility. Her latest interview with The Advocate is no exception.

[USA]
U.S. Army continues its assault on sanity
A national defense analyst says it's pretty obvious the Obama administration wants to open the U.S. armed forces to anyone – man or woman, or a little of both.

[USA]
LGBT Groups Denounce TSA Rule Codifying Body Scanners
The National Center for Transgender Equality, Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT & HIV Project today denounce the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)’s decision to codify its use of full body scanners in a final rule. Ordered to review the program by a federal appeals court five years ago, TSA said yesterday that it will make no changes in airport security and denied there is any impact on travelers’ privacy.

[AR, USA]
Sloppy Arkansas Legislation Leaves LGBT Rights Law Intact
Last year Arkansas legislators were determined to prevent local governments from passing laws banning discrimination against LGBT people, so they passed Act 137, which says that counties, municipalities and other “political subdivisions” of the State of Arkansas “shall not adopt or enforce an ordinance that creates a protected classification or prohibits discrimination on a basis not contained in state law.” They obviously thought that they had erected a firewall against any local laws banning discrimination because of sexual orientation or gender identity, but on March 1 Washington County Circuit Judge Doug Martin gave them a rude shock, ruling that Act 137 did not prevent the city of Fayetteville from passing such an ordinance.

[CA, USA]
University to release statement on gender identity
Title IX states that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial aid indirectly through students. It also states that any religious organization, if the grounds of Title IX are inconsistent with the university’s religious tenets, may be exempt.

[MD, USA]
No Doctor Signoff Required To Change Birth Certificate Under Maryland Transgender Bill
People who are transgender would be able to more easily change their birth certificates to reflect their preferred gender under a bill introduced in the Maryland General Assembly.

[MI, USA]
Trans Woman Runs for Township Supervisor
A transgender woman is running for township supervisor in a rural community north of Grand Rapids.

[NC, USA]
Democratic Gov. candidate Spaulding criticizes transgender ordinance; GOP lawmakers say they'll kill it if AG Cooper does not
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ken Spaulding on Thursday said an ordinance in Charlotte affecting transgender people is “problematic,” distancing himself from Attorney General Roy Cooper, his primary opponent, and aligning more with Republican state lawmakers who said the same day they are prepared to nullify it.
Speaker: Threshold met for special session on Charlotte transgender restroom law
Berger calls Charlotte transgender bathroom ordinance 'crazy'

[NY, USA]
Transgender policy to be discussed Friday by Kingston school board committee
The Board of Education’s Policy Committee will meet Friday to begin considering what wording should be included in anti-discrimination guidelines to address transgender and gender identification issues.

[PA, USA]
Two in custody for Maya Young murder
Philadelphia police have so far arrested two people in connection with the fatal stabbing of Maya Young, a transgender woman of color, in Frankford last month.
Second arrest made in transgender woman's killing

[PA, USA]
Judge denies name change for trans youth
A Montgomery County judge has denied a name-change petition filed on behalf of a trans boy, even though both of the boy's parents support the name change.

[PA, USA]
Hearing delayed for again for defendant in murder of trans woman
It’s been more than four months since Pedro Redding was arrested in connection with last year’s murder of Keisha Jenkins, a transgender woman of color, in Logan, and he’s still awaiting a preliminary hearing.

[RI, USA]
RI Catholic High School, Mount Saint Charles Academy Bans Transgender Students
Mount Saint Charles Academy in Woonsocket, Rhode Island has issued a policy banning transgender students from the school, according to the Parent and Students Handbook.

[SD, USA]
South Dakota Governor Bucks Party Line With Transgender Veto
When South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a bill this week that would have required transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that match their sex at birth, it wasn't his first break with members of his Republican Party.
BREAKING: South Dakota House fails to override transgender bill veto
With final defeat, transgender bill battle ends
Panel rejects regulating high school activities policy

[WA, USA]
Transgender rights will require "culturally responsive training": Murray
Seattle Mayor Ed Murray, in a new executive order, is requiring "culturally responsive" training for front line city staff, in order to guarantee a safe environment for the city's transgender residents.

[WA, USA]
WA Conservatives File Anti-Transgender Ballot Initiative
Working with the egregiously anti-gay Family Policy Institute of Washington (FPIW), the “Just Want Privacy” coalition just filed a ballot initiative seeking to codify discrimination against transgender people across the state of Washington. The initiative would have the effect of not only overturning existing transgender protections but also codifying targeted discrimination against the trans community.