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From All Over:
GenderNews
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Posted January 28 1999 |
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Copyright © 1995-1998 PlanetOut Corporation.
Priscilla was adamant about not abandoning her marriage, saying, "And why should I? My partner has supported me during this difficult period. Should I just throw her away saying thank you for the service given? It's not possible." Jeannine said of her 25-year spouse, "I love this person, whether he's a man or a woman. That may seem bizarre, but that's how it is." |
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From GAIN, http://www.gender.org/gain/.
According to a January 13, 1999 Reuters news story, a British Columbia club catering to gay men and lesbians has been order to pay C$2,000 to a transsexual who the club barred from using the women's restroom prior to SRS. The province's Human Rights Tribunal ruled that the Victoria club, B.J.'s Lounge, discriminated against Tawney Sheridan when it barred her from using the women's restroom after the club received complaints from female customers. When the incident occurred in 1995, Sheridan was legally a man and had not had surgery. In the ruling, Barbara Humphrey, the tribunal adjudicator, said that "Transsexuals in transition who are living members of the desired sex should be considered to be members of that sex." According to the story, Humphrey also ruled that "the club failed to prove that transsexuals use of the women's washroom would 'interfere with the maintenance of public decency' or cause female patrons 'undue hardship.'" |
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Two reports about the controversy. From InYourFace on-line news. For prior press releases, check the GenderPAC website at http://www.gpac.org [Blaine, MN: 16 Jan 99] Calling transsexual woman Alyssa Williams "a man pretending to be a woman", the American Center for Law and Justice, a Pat Robertson financed organization, is threatening to sue a Minnesota school district unless they remove Williams from her job as music teacher at Roosevelt Middle School in Blaine. 'Parents in Touch', a local group, complained to the Anoka-Hennepin school district about Williams' presence in the classroom. They want her to have no contact with students, although they cite no misconduct by Williams, nor do they question her credentials. They charge that school administrators have disciplined and intimidated students for speaking out against Williams and opting out of her classes. Minnesota is the only state with a human rights law that forbids discrimination against transgendered people. The senior counsel for the conservative group, Francis Manion, wrote a letter to 'Parents in Touch' saying that his organization would sue the school district if the group's demands are not met. The letter states that the school district went beyond the requirements of the state law and illegally promoted Williams' lifestyle as "acceptable, normal and not to be thought of as any different than traditional male- female gender roles." School board chairman Michael Sullivan said the board would look into specific compliants of harassment or retribution against students protesting Williams' presence. However, board members and administrators say they have received no such compliants. From GAIN (http://www.gender.org/gain/) According to a January 14, 1999 story in the St. Paul. Pioneer Press by Linda Owen a "nationally prominent law firm" has said that it is prepared to sue the Anoka-Hennepin School District. At issue is Alyssa Williams, a Roosevelt Middle School music teacher who is in the process of transitiioning from a male gender role to a female role. According to the story, the firm, The American Center for Law and Justice, wants Williams removed from contact with students and for the school board to apologize for its handling of the matter. According to the story, Williams' coming out as transgender in November has been nothing less than controversial. Subsequent to Williams' coming out, pastors iln the area asked the school board to reassign Williams and to work to change Minnesota's human rights law, "the only one in the nation that protects transgender people from discrimination." District officials, however, said in a December 23 letter to the pastors that they "think transferring Williams would compromise their compliance with the human rights law." In indicating the firm's intent to sue for Williams' transfer, Francis Manion, the senior regional counsel for the law firm, referred to Williams as "a man pretending to be a woman," and argued that the Anoka-Hennepin School Board overstepped the requirements of the state's anti-discrimination law by promoting Williams' transgender status as "acceptable, normal and not to be thought of as any different than traditional male-female gender roles." |
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Page prepared by Beth Lewis
A male-to-female transsexual and the wife who has remained with her
through her gender reassignment process are fighting a Belgian court
order that they divorce because the country's laws do not recognize
same-sex marriages. Priscilla (nee Rony) and Jeannine Van Sandt
appeared on January 13 in the Antwerp Court of Appeals to contest the
order.