Transgender residents in Fort Wayne could get new protections under a proposed amendment to the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance. Democratic city council member Karen Goldner is expected to introduce an amendment in the coming week aimed at preventing or punishing discrimination based on “gender identity.” Goldner said transgendered people and others with unconventional sexual identities are often victims of hate crimes. “It can be very dangerous. You don’t always see them around, because they’re hiding,” she said.

Read the full story from the Chicago Tribune.

A majority of Iowans think the issue of gay marriage doesn’t deserve lawmakers’ limited time. Among six hot-button topics, a new Iowa Poll shows a majority of Iowans consider only a ban on text messaging while driving worth the Legislature’s time during a session shortened by 20 days to cut costs. Iowans are not enthusiastic about devoting time to debates on gay marriage, puppy mills, gun control, payday loans or gambling.

Read the full story from the Des Moines Register.

Two Iowa legislators are getting heat from the gay community. The lawmakers want to remove protection to lesbians, gay and transgender students from the Safe Schools Law, in and effort to reverse the Iowa’s Supreme Court decision to legalize same-sex marriage. Rep. Jason Schultz says he’s not doing this to hurt gay, lesbian and transgender students, he’s just trying to forward his agenda to make same sex marriage illegal here in Iowa. “The Bully Bill or Safe School Act doesn’t protect anyone anyway. Schools are already doing this, so to remove few words doesn’t change the intent or effect of the law,” says Rep. Jason Schultz.

Read the full story from WHO-TV.

The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay. Many gay politicians in San Francisco and lawyers who have had dealings with Walker say the 65-year-old jurist, appointed to the bench by President George H.W. Bush in 1989, has never taken pains to disguise – or advertise – his orientation.

Read the full story from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Albania’s new anti-discrimination law defends gays and minorities and meets European standards, its sponsors said on Friday, but warned that homophobia is rife and winning over the public will be slow. Albanian rights groups and the Alliance against the Discrimination of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) welcomed the law as a powerful legal tool to protect against any kind of discrimination. Approved by the ruling Democratic Party and its allies in parliament late on Thursday, the law does not allow same-sex marriage as promised by Prime Minister Sali Berisha. Muslim, Orthodox and Catholic communities condemned the idea.

Read the full story from Reuters.

Members of a Maryland House committee on Wednesday shot down a bill that would prohibit Maryland from recognizing gay marriages validated by other states or countries. The House of Delegates Judiciary Committee voted against the proposal from Baltimore County Del. Emmett C. Burns Jr. The same committee has rejected similar measures introduced in other years. Its vote prevents the bill from going to the House floor for debate.

Read the full story from the Baltimore Sun.

Kids can surely be mean to each other. And for those who identify as gay or lesbian, life can be particularly tough. A new study shows these adolescents get bullied two to three times more than their heterosexual peers. While the researchers aren’t sure why this sexual minority gets bullied more than others or the type of bullying, which can include various verbal insults and physical assaults, they suggest in general those who are different from the social norm are often bully targets. Whatever the cause, the researchers say, the results have implications for parents and schools alike.

Read the full story from FOX News.

No surprise here, but the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics has gone ahead and rejected the latest referendum petition on the issue of same-sex marriage. This is the third time the board has ruled that a ballot measure on gay marriage will not be allowed. In an 18-page memorandum, the board concluded that an effort to suspend the implementation of the Civil Marriage Equality Act until it appears on the ballot is not a proper subject for a referendum. The legislation, which grants full marriage rights to same-sex couples, was passed by the D.C. Council and signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty last year.

Read the full story from DCist.

 

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DC Elections Board Again Rules Out a Gay Marriage Referendum
Gay, Lesbian Teens Bullied More Than Heterosexuals
Maryland House Committee Kills Anti-Gay Marriage Bill
Albania Passes Pro-Gay Protections, But Not Marriage

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Obama Condemns Uganda Anti-Gay Bill as “Odious
Gay NY Teen’s Harassment Suit Gets Federal Notice
Bronze Star Recipient Accused of Gay Bashing Stripped of Rank
Outcry Over Brazilian General’s Comments on Gay Soldiers

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A Brazilian general’s comment that gay soldiers should not be allowed to ­command troops sparked fierce ­criticism today from gay rights groups and a national lawyers’ organisation that champions human rights. The uproar comes at the same time the US is debating whether to repeal a ban on gays serving openly in the military. Gen Raymundo Nonato told a senate commission considering his appointment to head Brazil’s top military court on Wednesday that while gay soldiers won’t be ousted if they don’t reveal their homosexuality, a gay soldier in a command position “will not be obeyed by his subordinates in combat situations”.

Read the full story from the Guardian.

A Bronze Star recipient accused in a West Side gay bashing has been punished by the military and stripped of his rank, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn confirmed Wednesday. Air Force Staff Sgt. Benjamin Ford, a master at defusing bombs, accepted the charges against him rather than face a court-martial, said victim Blake Hayes, who was informed of the punishment by an Air Force Lt. colonel. Ford, who the NYPD tracked down at an Air Force base outside London, was docked pay for September 2009 – the month during which he taunted and roughed up Hayes, 24, and two pals outside a Hell’s Kitchen pub.

Read the full story from NY Daily News.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday denounced as “odious” a proposed anti-gay law in Uganda that has drawn international condemnation. “We may disagree about gay marriage, but surely we can agree that it is unconscionable to target gays and lesbians for who they are — whether it’s here in the United States or … more extremely in odious laws that are being proposed most recently in Uganda,” Obama told the National Prayer Breakfast. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking before Obama at the annual bipartisan gathering of religious and political leaders, also criticized the draft law being considered by Uganda’s parliament.

Read the full story from Reuters.com.

The bullying by classmates and taunts of “homo” only got worse after Jacob began dyeing his hair and wearing eyeliner in eighth grade. One student scrawled “I hope you die” on his shoe, he said; another drew a pocket knife on him. Jacob’s grades dropped, and he missed school from fear. His father tried repeatedly to get school officials in their working-class village in upstate New York to help protect his son from harassment. The response by the Mohawk Central School District, according to a federal lawsuit, was to do “virtually nothing.”

Read the full story from the Washington Post.