• ELIXHER
• On March 14, 2014

Lesbian Judicial Nominee Sails Through Hearing

A lesbian judicial nominee to the federal bench sailed through her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, receiving only two questions that came from the U.S. senator who recommended her to the court.

Staci Michelle Yandle, whom President Obama nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois in January, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of a group of five judicial nominees. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) presided over the hearing.

Continue reading on the Washington Blade.

The Quickly Shifting Language of the Transgender Community

Not long ago, two genders were seen as sufficient for pretty much any form or sign-up page. But as trans or transgender people—umbrella terms encompassing both people who feel at home as members of the opposite sex of their birth, and people who feel their gender can’t be reduced to male or female—have become more prominent and more vocal in America, the language is bending to accommodate more possibilities.

Read more over at the Boston Globe.

Ugandans Challenge ‘Jail the Gays’ Law in Court

Ugandan human rights organizations, LGBT activists, attorneys, and even some lawmakers filed suit in Uganda’s constitutional court Tuesday, challenging the country’s enactment of its draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act, which prescribes lifetime imprisonment for many instances of homosexuality, and lengthy jail terms for anyone found to be “aiding or abetting homosexuality.”

Details at Advocate.

Judge Rules Homeless Jamaican LGBT Youth Can Keep Living in Sewers

A judge in New Kingston, Jamaica ruled this week that homeless young people — many of whom have been kicked out of their homes for being LGBT — can continue living in the capital city’s sewers, where they’ve taken up residence after being forced to leave abandoned buildings in which they sought shelter.

Also on Advocate.