Transgender Rights

An Oklahoma judge has repeatedly denied transgender women their petitions for a name change to reflect their female identity, ruling that the requests were made for a fraudulent purpose.

CHICAGO — The Chicago Police Department has enacted a general order that mandates protections for transgender people while in the custody of police and requires officers to be trained for the respectful treatment of transgender detainees.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration has released new medical certification procedures for transgender pilots, eliminating unnecessary psychological testing that had previously been required.

Civil rights advocates filed a court-supervised agreement Monday that will make it easier for transgender individuals in Illinois to get accurate birth certificates reflecting their gender. The agreement asks to end the requirement for genital surgery in order to change the gender marker.

BOSTON, Lincolnshire, U.K. — A 16-year-old British transgender girl was told that she couldn’t take her GCSE exam (equivalent to high school finals) and was sent home by teachers to change into the boys’ school uniform.

The reality is that while bullying, school environments, and related outcomes have a long way to go for LGB students, the distance is even further for transgender students. We need to be having a discussion about that. […] Every experience or outcome that is not broken down by gender identity, or the intersection of gender identity and other statuses such as race, makes invisible the unique and often more concerning experiences transgender students have….

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Episcopal Church has approved a measure to allow the blessing of same-sex unions, as well as two proposals adding gender identity and expression to the Church’s nondiscrimination canons for ordained ministry, and a resolution supporting legislation for equal immigration rights for same-sex couples.

A transgender D.C. woman alleges in a lawsuit against the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service that she was improperly placed with male prisoners after a 2009 arrest.

The Denver Sheriff Department in January will roll out new policies regarding transgender inmates, The GLBT Community Center of Colorado announced Friday. The new 360-degree policies will include new practices from transport to booking and housing.

A transgender man has been arrested as Kuwait continues a campaign against “immorality” which includes LGBT people among its targets.

WASHINGTON — The Senate heard for the first time ever testimony from a transgender witness in a hearing dedicated to highlighting workplace discrimination experienced by LGBT people.

Miss Pennsylvania USA has given up her state crown because she said the Miss USA pageant was fixed, but pageant officials refuted her claim, and said she quit over her disapproval of the organization’s decision to allow transgender participants.

NEW YORK — Grammy award winning artist Janet Jackson has signed on to be executive producer of a documentary covering the lives and struggles of transgender people around the world.

FORT SMITH, Ark. — An Arkansas university has changed its restroom policies after a transgender student filed a complaint with the U.S Department of Justice.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — A Las Vegas high school student, who came out as transgender male to family and friends last year, will be able to walk in his high school graduation ceremony with the rest of his male classmates after a local television station interceded with school officials.

WILMINGTON, Ohio — When an area school district dismissed a Wilmington College transgender senior in January on the second day of a student-teaching placement at Hillsboro High School, the district may have broken federal law.

LGBT rights supporters are continuing to press for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, following a ruling this week from a U.S. agency expanding non-discrimination protections under existing law to include transgender workers.

In a historic ruling, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has determined that job bias against transgender employees on the basis of gender identity amounts to sex discrimination under existing law.

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas at Austin is set to implement a new policy this summer that will allow transgender students to list their preferred names on all official University records, including a name that may be different from their legal name.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Friday issued a policy memorandum revising the treatment of gender designations for transgender people on their immigration documents.