August 19, 2006--Boston, MA. Transgendered
inmates push for state-funded sex-change surgery...."People often have a knee-jerk
reaction that public money shouldn't be spent on this," said Shannon Minter, a board
member of the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. "If people are not treated, they
suffer tremendously," said Minter. "It's just as cruel to withhold treatment for
gender identity disorder as it is to withhold treatment for any other medical issue."
USA today
story here.
January 25, 2006--Washington, DC--IRS disallows a woman's tax
deduction for SRS - citing teachings in a Catholic religious journal as a basis for its
decision. See report by Lynn Conway here.
See web CPA article here.
October 27, 2005--New York, NY--Transgender plaintiffs charge bias; bar alleges
“shakedown." In a lawsuit filed October 19 in State Supreme Court in Manhattan,
three plaintiffs, including two transgendered women, charge that on at least three
occasions this year, Splash Bar New York, the West 17th Street gay establishment, denied
or attempted to deny entry to women on Saturday evenings, which the club promotes as
Men’s Night. Read rest of Gay City News story here.
October 21, 2005--From the ACLU Lesbian & Gay Rights and AIDS Projects--This
Friday, October 21, ABC's 20/20 will run a story on Diane Schroer at 10:00 PM EDT.
Diane has an amazing story. A retired Army Special Forces Colonel, Diane accepted a
job researching terrorism for the Library of Congress, only to have the offer rescinded
when she told her supervisor that she is transgender. Talking to the American
public about gender identity discrimination is a significant challenge. We hope
Diane's story will be a bit of help in changing that. Diane's long and distinguished
record of service in the military over 25 years makes what the Library of Congress did
seem particularly unfair, even to people who are usually difficult for us to reach.
That the government chose this moment to toss aside expertise on counterterrorism only
makes the situation more absurd. Nobody makes the case better than Diane
herself. As she put it in a speech this summer, "...for 26 years I went into
every godforsaken hell-hole anyone could conceive of, without so much as a whimper--Port
Au Prince, Mogadishu, Kinshasa...only to be told I was not good enough to work for the
federal government..." We are hoping Diane and her case against the Library of
Congress will advance the national conversation on gender identity. The print
version of the 20/20 segment is online here: More information about her
case is available from the ACLU here.
March 30, 2005--New York, NY--New
York Appeals Court Dismisses Transgender Bathroom Lawsuit. Story here.
March 25, 2005--Cincinatti, OH--Sixth Circuit upholds officer's TG
discrimination award; Court says again: 1964 Civil Rights Act includes transgender and
some gay bias. Gay Peoples Chronicle story here.
Gay City News story here.
anuary 29, 2005--Cleveland, OH--Cleveland--A transgender man and his
partner have filed complaints against a soft drink bottling company for on-the-job
harassment that eventually led to both of them being fired. The case is one of the first
to use a 2004 court ruling for transgender firefighter Jimmie Lee Smith of Salem that
extends the protection of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to transgenders, gays and lesbians if
it involves sex-stereotyping. Here.
January 27, 2005--Concord, NH--AP Wire story, Gay Marriage Becomes
Transsexual Issues. Here.
December 31, 2004--Allentown, PA--Transgendered guard gets new job
rights; she has same duties as other women working at Carbon prison. Here.
December 30. 2004--New York, NY--Argentinean trans woman gains U.S.
refuge after years of activism at home. Here.
December 29, 2004--Salem, OH--Transgender Firefigher Settles Suit Out
of Court. A federal lawsuit that extended the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect
transgender people from sex stereotyping discrimination on the job ended when firefighter
Jimmie Lee Smith and the city of Salem settled out of court. Here.
December 24, 2004--Sioux City, IA--Trans
woman settles discrimination lawsuit. Here.
December
2, 2004--San Francisco, CA--Man who wed transsexual faces exile: The Filipino
husband of an American transgender woman has been pulled off the citizenship track because
of his wife's identity and may be deported if he is unable to convince a federal court to
step in. Story here.
November 2004--Deakin Law Review focuses
on the jurisprudence of transsexualism. Here.
November 29, 2004--Los Angeles--A lawsuit
filed against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services alleges the agency
discriminated against a Filipino couple when it denied the husband's legal residency
because his wife had a sex change operation nearly 24 years ago. AP Wire story here.
November 16, 2004--Leavenworth, KA--Court
dismisses charges against transsexual woman prosecuted for "gender fraud." A
Leavenworth Superior Court Judge dismissed all charges against Sandy Gast, a transgender
woman who was brutally taken from her home, incarcerated, and prosecuted for the
"crime" of living her life as a woman. See TLPI/TLC/NCTE Press release here.
Sept. 15. 2004--Los Angeles, CA--Appeals
Court Overturns Deportation Order Of Tortured Transsexual: A preoperative transsexual who
fled El Salvador after she was beaten and raped was given a reprieve Tuesday from
deportation. Gay.com story here.
August 20, 2004--New Jersey--Federal
Appellate court rules a school failed to provide a "free appropriate public
education" to a student who suffered homophobic and gender stereotyping harassment.
In pdf here.
July 28, 2004--Alabama--Federal appeals court finds
ban on the sale of sex toys in Alabama constitutional. Decison here in PDF.
July 23, 2004--Florida--Florida
Court of Appeal Invalidates Marriage But Rejects Mother’s Request to Deprive
Transgender Father of Parental Rights. The Florida Court of Appeal issued a decision today
in a marriage and custody case involving Michael Kantaras, a transsexual man who married a
woman in Florida and had two children with her. When Michael petitioned for divorce, his wife asked
the court to invalidate their marriage and to strip Michael of any parental rights, based
solely on his transgender status. After a
three week trial in 2002, which was televised on Court TV, the trial court held that
Michael is legally male, the marriage was valid, and awarded primary custody to Michael. The trial court’s decision – which
surveyed all of the existing legal and medical literature on transsexualism, and which
ultimately exceeded 800 pages in length -- received national attention. Release is
here in PDF or visit the NCLR web page for the joint NCLR/Equality Florida full
release.Decision here.
June 16, 2004--Houston, TX--Many stories about a
marriage case involving a trans woman. Houston Chronicle here;
Houston webzine here, with background stories at the bottom. KHOU story here; AP story here. Seems that most of the reporters haven't read the AP Style guide on
covering trans people.
June 8, 2004--Des Moines, IA--Fired
Transsexual Worker in Iowa Sues. Here.
June 2, 2004--Philadelphia, PA--City
settles suit over transsexual's death; The family of entertainer Nizah Morris gets
$250,000. Here.
June 1, 2004--Ohio--Sixth Circuit holds that Title
VII applies to transgender people, based on their reading of Price Waterhouse, but later
amends their decision to narrow its holdings. Read amended version here. Read the full
original decision here in PDF.
May 27, 2004--New York, NY--The lawyer for
a Jackson Heights landlord who gave a Latino AIDS clinic the boot after transgendered
clients turned up in the womens restrooms argued last week that the group is not a
protected minority under state law and its case should be thrown out. Here.
April 23, 2004--VERMONT ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES
LANDMARK RULING PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST TRANSGENDER EMPLOYEES; Former Hardwick,
Vt. Police Officer Settles Claim Against Town After Atty. General Finds Probable Cause He
Was Fired Because He Is Transgender. See GLAD press release here.
April 16, 2004--Hayward, CA--Family says
transgender teen was not deceitful. Here. Also see "Defense calls transgender victim guilty of
'deception and betrayal' " here.
April 7, 2004--Michigan--ACLU pushes for transgender
rights. Here.
March 21, 2004--Leavenwork, Kansas--Transsexual
faces charge of falsely obtaining marriage license. Here
and longer story here.
February 28, 2004--Cincinatti, OH--Transsexual Police
Officer Receives Additional Settlement; City Attorney Plans To Appeal Decision. Here.
February 24, 2004--Wyoming--Federal Judge
says Wyoming prison violated due process rights of intersexual woman. Here.
February 6, 2004--San Francisco, CA--Transsexual
claims city shelter mistreatment. here.
February 2, 2004--Portland, OR--Gym
Cancels Membership After Discovering Woman is Transgendered. Here and here.
January 29, 2004--New York, NY--NY Lawyers
Won for Transsexuals, But Can They Win a Paycheck? New York Lawyer story here.
January 2, 2004--Vancouver, BC--Court
Rules Rape Center Did Not Discriminate In Refusing TG Volunteer. Here.
Decision here.
December 31, 2003--Trumbull County, Ohio--Decision
Made in Transsexual Marriage Case. Here.
December 19, 2003--Rochester, NY--School policy
shields transgendered. Story
here.
December 5, 2003--Houston, TX--Sex change
focus of child custody case. Here.
December 2, 2003--New York, NY--Sylvia Rivera Law Project Wins Transgender
Woman's Name Change Case. Decision here in
PDF, SRLP brief here in
PDF. See also Art Leonard's Gay City News story here;
NY Lawyer story here
and Newsday story here and hostile (of course) NY Post story here.
November 28, 2003--Casper, Wyoming--Douglas
hermaphrodite sues Corrections Department. A transgendered woman has sued the state
Department of Corrections over her 14-month sentence at the Wyoming Women's Center. Here.
November 28, 2003--Washington, DC--Trans
woman reports sexual assault in D.C. male cellblock. Incident prompts police to consider
changing record system. Here.
November 26, 2003--Miami, FL--A Mexican
[trans woman] ]seeking asylum who was sexually abused by a guard at the Krome detention
center in May 2000 has accepted $95,000 to settle a lawsuit against the federal
government. Here.
November 26, 2003--Concord, NH--Transsexual
Prisoner Sues For Treatment; Hormone Therapy Interrupted By Prison Sentence. Here and
here.
November 6, 2003--New York, NY--Sylvia Rivera Law Project Wins Transgender
Woman's Name Change Case. Decision here in
PDF, SRLP brief here in
PDF. See also Art Leonard's Gay City News story here
and NY Lawyer story here.
November 20, 2003--Wyoming--Girls ejected
from dance; ACLU protests. Here.
October 2003--Tronetti v. TLC Healthnet,
a Title VII complaint involving a pre-operative trans person.
November 18, 2003--Massachusetts: In an
historic decision, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled today that gay and
lesbian couples can no longer be excluded from obtaining civil marriages in Massachusetts.
The 4-3 ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, filed by New England's Gay
& Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, is the first of its kind in this country by a
final appellate court. For up-to-date information, visit Gay & Lesbian Advocates &
Defenders website here.
November 12, 2003--Allentown, PA--Transgendered
podiatrist alleges discrimination. Here.
October 27, 2003--New York, NY--BIAS IN
THE BATHROOM: CASE FOR TRANSGENDER RIGHTS. A groundbreaking lawsuit challenges assumptions
about gender and demands fair treatment for all. Here.
October 24, 2003--New York, NY--Lavender
Law Coverage of Trans Issues from the Washington Blade. Here.
October 24, 2003--Warren, OH--May this man
marry this woman? Court hears case of couple denied marriage because the groom is
transsexual. Here.
October 16, 2003--Suit Against Transphobic
Landlord Moves Forward. 365gay.com story here. ACLU
press release here.
September 26, 2003--Augusta, GA--Pre-op
trans woman wins name change; Two-year ordeal spiraled `out of control', Augusta judge
says. Southern Voice story here.
September 16, 2003--Philadelphia, PA--Mother
of Slain Transsexual Sues. Philadelphia Inquirer story here. Planet
Out story here.
Summer 2003--American Bar Association Human Rights
Magazine: Article by Jennifer Levi, Protections for Transgender Employees here.
Article by Taylor Flynn, Protecting Transgender Families:
Strategies for Advocates here.
July 2003--Texas Bar Journal--Responsible
Representation Of Your First Transgendered Client
By Phyllis Randolph Frye and Katrina C. Rose. If a transgendered person has
not entered your law office seeking representation, in all likelihood one will soon(1) or,
perhaps, one already has and you’ve simply not been aware because the person was
closeted(2) and the case didn’t appear to directly deal with transgender law. Many
practitioners eventually will face this question: To fairly and ethically represent
transgendered clients, what special knowledge is needed? The answer is both simple and
complex. One needs the ability to dispense with personal assumptions about transgendered
people(3) and professional assumptions about transgender law. Full
article here.
July 24, 2003--Florida--Religious right
plans to appeal Kantaras v. Kantaras. See their story here.
July 18, 2003--Albany, NY--Trans Inmate
Entitled to Care; Federal judge nixes prison’s policy of treating only pre-existing
gender identity disorder. See story here.
July, 2003--Hobart, IN--Feds say
transsexual's rights were not violated. See story here.
July 5, 2003--College Park, MD--Employee
sues over transgender bathroom use. An employee at an IBM office on Riveredge
Parkway filed a civil lawsuit over the company allowing a transgendered employee to use
the women’s restrooms. See Southern Voice story .here
July 4, 2003--South Africa: Sacked
transsexual sues employer; A transgendered South African woman is suing her employer,
South African National Blood Service, for $800,000 after she claims she was ousted after
they found out she had started 'surgical proceedings' to change her sex. Story here.
July 4, 2003--United Kingdom. Transsexuals
sue pub; Six transsexuals are taking legal action against the landlord of the Red Lion pub
in Thorby, Northamptonshire, after they were asked to leave when one member of the party
visited the women's toilets. Story here.
June 28, 2003--New York, NY--New York
court hears transgender lawsuit. A New York landlord's claim that he was justified
in refusing to let transgendered clients with the Hispanic AIDS Forum use any of his
building's rest rooms or common areas should be rejected, the ACLU told a New York court
Friday. Advocate story here.
June 27, 2003--New York, NY--Trans
Activists Charge Harassment; Police selectively requiring ID at public bathrooms at
Christopher St. riverfront. Gay City News story here.
Sylvia Rivera Law Project here.
June 26, 2003--Washington, DC--Supreme
Court strikes down sodomy laws, reverses Bowers v. Hardwick. Read the
National Center for Lesbian Rights extensive press release here. Read CNN story here.
Read decision here in PDF.
June 15, 2003--Pennsylvania--State helping
inmate change sex. Story here.
June 2003--Trans Realities: A Legal Needs
Assessment of San Francisco ’s Transgender Communities. By Shannon Minter of
the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Christopher Daley of the Transgender Law
Center. In pdf here.
June 2003--Some Courtroom Concerns of the
Transgender Community, Members of the transgender community have many of the same
courtroom concerns that everyone has. We want to be respected; be heard; and be able to
understand the legal proceedings and outcomes. We are also concerned about adequate
accommodations for non-English speakers, respect of cultural differences, and elimination
of racial and economic bias. A joint publication of the Transgender Law Center and the
National Center for Lesbian Rights. In pdf here.
June 8, 2003--Lehigh Valley, PA--A
transgender woman prison guard has returned to work at Carbon County Prison after a
monthlong administrative leave, and she and officials say the return has gone smoothly. Story
here. See also earlier AP story, "Prison guard's transsexual move
leads to administrative leave. A prison guard who was born male but who has been
living as a woman and taking female hormones has been placed on administrative leave, but
wants to return to work" here.
May 30, 2003--New York, NY--Two
transsexuals were wrongfully can-canned from their jobs as go-go dancers at a Chelsea
nightclub because the owners wanted to hire "real girls," a judge ruled
yesterday. Story (it's very short) here.
May 27, 2003--Richmond, VA--Transsexual
Ruling Reversed: The U.S. appeals court in Richmond today said a Roanoke federal judge
should not have dismissed the case of a transsexual state prison inmate seeking to resume
estrogen treatments. Story here.
May 9, 2003--Warren Ohio--The judge who denied a marriage
license to a heterosexual couple because one is transgender will not be heard during their
appeal. Neither will a Cincinnati anti-gay group that inserted themselves into the case.
See Gay People's Chronicle story here.
May 1, 2003--Philadelphia, PA--Maybe this
is the ultimate insult for Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.: A panel discussing gay politics at
Equality Forum last night barely mentioned him. Instead a homosexual man, a lesbian and a
transgender leader described "the inside game" of lobbying the Republican
controlled Pennsylvania legislature - successfully - for an inclusive anti-hate crimes
law. Philadephia Daily News story here.
April 19, 2003--Vancouver, BC--British
Columbia Ordered To Pay For TG Surgery: The British Columbia government has been ordered
to pay a transgendered man more than $125,000 (Cdn) for sex reassignment surgery.
Vancouver Sun story here.
April 10, 2003--Transgender UK Marriage Not Legal: A
British transgendered woman has lost the battle to have her 22-year marriage declared
legal. See story here. See Press For Change fact sheet on this case, Bellinger
v. Bellinger.
April 9, 2003--Chicago, IL--Judge Denies TG Man Custody Of
Son: A Chicago judge Tuesday ruled a transgender male cannot be granted parental
rights because same-sex marriages are illegal in Illinois and therefore the man was never
the boy's legitimate father. See 365gay.com story here.
April 9, 2003--San Francisco, CA--Schools must protect gay
kids, court rules. A federal appeals court in San Francisco has issued a historic
decision, holding school officials liable for failing to protect students from anti-gay
harassment. See 365gay.com story here.
See National Center for Lesbian Rights press release here.
And in another case brought by the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, a federal court ruled April 4, 2003
that a lesbian student can sue school district for barring her from gym class. Release here.
March 30, 2003--Spokane, WA-- AP Story: Sex-change
recipient claims bias in lawsuit. Read story here. See 365gay.com story here.
March 14, 2003--Warren, Ohio--Gay People's
Chronicle: A Cincinnati anti-gay group has asked a court to allow them to oppose the
appeal of a heterosexual couple denied marriage because one is transsexual. Here.
March 13, 2003--Denver, CO--Transsexual Inmate Barred From
Sex Treatments. Read the story, which most definitely did not follow the AP style guide regarding proper pronoun usage, here.
March 7, 2003--New York, NY--Lesbian Hairdresser Bias Suit
Nixed, Case highlights complexity of gender conformity, federal law. See Gay
City News Story.
February 26, 2003--Cincinatti, OH. A federal court jury awarded $320,000 to a transsexual
Cincinnati police officer who was demoted
from the rank of sergeant in 1999. The jury
held that the City of Cincinnati discriminated against the officer, a 22 year veteran of
the force, for failing to conform to male stereotypes while serving as a probationary
sergeant in 1999. The jury also held that the
City of Cincinnati intentionally discriminated against Ms. Barnes based on
her perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or transsexuality. See news story. Also see
March 14, 2003 Gay People's Chronice Story on conservative group's
request for the right to intervene in a this lawsuit
here.
February 21, 2003--Clearwater Florida.
In an 800+ page decision, a Florida Judge ruled in groundbreaking case that Michael
Kantaras, a transgender man, is legally male and was legally married to his former
wife. Michael Kantaras was also awarded primary custody of the couple's two
children. July 24, 2003--Florida--Religious right plans to appeal
Kantaras v. Kantaras. See their story here.
February 11, 2003--In the Matter of Robert Wright Helig
(2003). Maryland Appellate court remands case back to lower court, finding the
lower court had "erred in broadly concluding, as a matter of law, that gender was not
subject to modification or adjustment," and instructing the lower court not to
dismiss a transsexual women's request for a new birth certificate out of hand, but to
consider medical evidence. Download pdf file offsite here.
January 16, 2003--New York, NY.
Hispanic AIDS Forum v. Estate of Joseph Bruno: Judge’s Rulings Favor Latino AIDS
Agency in Transgender Discrimination Suit. See ACLU press release.
January 1, 2003--Doe v. Bell: New York State Court
rules that the New York City Administration for Children Services violated the New York
State Human Rights Law by prohibting her from wearing skirts and dresses. See Sylvia Rivera Legal
Resource Program News Release. Read case here in PDF format.
December 2002--Mario v. P & C Food
Markets (2002) Gender Change Insurance Nixed: Federal appeals court upholds
ruling that sex change surgery is merely “cosmetic”. See Art Leonard
GCN story.
November 15, 2002--Transgender Win in Massachusetts;
Court finds protections based on sex, disability. See NYC Gay City News story.
November 15, 2002--Toys ‘R’ Us May Pay Up
After All; Transgender plaintiffs, awarded only $1, win big attorney’s fees. See NYC Gay City News story.
September 26, 2002: TLPI News
Release--Transgender Equality: A few steps forward,
one step back. 2002 has been a banner year for transgender equality...Read on.
September 24, 2002: Reuters Wire
Story--"Transvestite Settles Beauty School Lawsuit." [Not
our headline] Click
here for the off-site link.
September 17, 2002--ACLU
Criticizes Decision in Louisiana Transgendered Case, Oiler v. Winn-Dixie
July 2, 2002--Hawaii Civil Rights
Commission Accepts Transgender Bias Cases. You can read the decision in HTML here or you can
download it in RTF format offsite
here.
March 15th, 2002--Kansas State Supreme
Court declared marriage of transsexual woman J'Noel Gardiner invalid.
TLPI NEWS RELEASE.
Read the case here.
Kantaras
v. Kantaras:
March 4, 2002--Time Magazine,
"Transsexuals Who Wed." Available soon.
February 15, 2002--Equality Florida Legal
Advocacy Project Represents Transgender Father in Custody Battle Televised on Court TV
January 29, 2002--Court TV broadcasts
Kantaras v. Kantaras, a Florida custody trial in FTM Michael Kantaras's legal sex is at
issue. Full story.
January 23, 2002--Court TV does a story
on the Transgender Law and Policy Institute. Read it here.
November 2001--The Minnesota Supreme Court
rules against Julie Goins. Read the Minnesota
Supreme Court opinion [offsite], November 29, 2001. Go to all documents on the Goins.
October, 2001--Transgender Law
and Policy Institute Press Release: Massachusetts Commission Against
Discrimination Rules Transgender People Covered Under the Law. Read the press release. Read more information on
the decision and one of the plaintiffs involved in the November 2001 edition of Outreach News, in
PDF format.
July 3, 2001--Transgender Law and
Policy Press Release: New Jersey Appeals Court
Finds Transgender Doctor Covered by State Non-Discrimination Law. Read the
actual decision, ENRIQUEZ, M.D. v. WEST JERSEY HEALTH SYSTEMS, here.
May 11, 2000--Kansas court reverses bad
transsexual marriage case. Read the case off
site here.
November 30, 2000--Massachusetts
appeals court agrees: Transgender student may remain in school. And see, October
12, 2000--Brockton, MA court rules in favor of transgender student. See the GLAD press release.
November 21, 2000--Goins v. West
Publishing. State of Minnesota Court of Appeals rules that the transgender-inclusive
definition of sexual orientation in Minnesota's Human Rights Act covers a transgender
woman denied use of the women's restroom in her workplace. Read the
decision here. This may be the first published opinion interpreting the
transgender aspects of this statute. See story in the Minnesota Lawyer.
November 15, 2000--Connecticut Human
Rights Commission Rules in Favor of Transgender People. See GLAD press release. Read
the decision.
August 24, 2000--HERNANDEZ-MONTIEL
v. INS: A U.S. federal court of appeals finds that a transgender gay man from Mexico
"had a well-founded fear of future persecution and was entitled to asylum and
withholding of deportation." Read
the decision online. Read the joint National
Center for Lesbian Rights/LLDEF/ACLU press release online.
August 26, 2000--"A Westerville
couple is fighting to regain custody of their 6-year-old boy, whom they said was taken by
social workers because they let the child dress and act like he's a girl." (Click
here Columbus Post
Dispatch news story.)
November 20, 1998-"New tactic takes aim at bias U.S. Justice Department using
existing laws that forbid gender discrimination," New York/Washington
Blade report. Lead: "In a significant move, the U.S. Justice Department
announced last week that it will use existing federal civil rights laws to take legal
action against businesses and state and local governments that engage in employment
discrimination against gay and transgender persons."
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