Shannon Minter on In the Life: “Revising Gender”

NCLR is proud to announce that In the Life is featuring Legal Director Shannon Minter in their April edition: “Revising Gender.” In The Life Media produces media that produces change for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) communities. In an era of sound bite news, inch-deep celebrity profiles and reality shows, their public television series, In the Life, documents the full range of the LGBT experience and the issues that impact our lives and our communities through stories on politics and public policy, personal and community health, religion and spirituality, and more.

This month, In the Life reports on the growing movement for transgender civil rights in our hospitals, courthouses and on the streets. “Looking Back, Pushing Forward” examines the controversy raging over the inclusion of Gender Identity Disorder in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. They look to NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter who has been at the forefront of transgender law cases in this country, for more information on this important issue.

In the “A Conversation With…,” series, National Center for Transgender Equality Executive Director Mara Keisling and political theorist, Paisley Currah, discuss legislation designed to protect trans people from discrimination at work and in gender-specific public spaces.

The program concludes with a profile of The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a global collective of queer performance artists who defy expectation using the power of parody to promote human rights, respect for diversity, and spiritual enlightenment.

Click here to watch the episode.

Same-Sex Couples Wed Legally in Iowa

by Tony Leys, Reid Forgrave and Grant Schulte | Des Moines Register

Iowa’s new era of gay marriage started this morning with hugs and kisses on one side, and peacefully offered petitions on the other. Proponents claimed a nationally prominent victory as a unanimous Supreme Court ruling legalizing gay marriage took effect.

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KETV News: Same-Sex Couples Apply for Marriage Licenses

Couples Can Get Waivers To Bypass Waiting Period

OMAHA, Neb. — Same-sex couples have begun filing for marriage licenses in the state of Iowa after the state’s Supreme Court legalized gay marriage.

Two Lincoln, Neb., women were first in line at the Pottawattamie County Recorder’s office in Council Bluffs to apply for their license.

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Photo Gallery: Same-Sex Couples Apply for Marriage Licenses in Iowa

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Changing How Marriage Is Viewed By Society among Proponents’ Aims

The same-sex marriage debate: Family Matters
by Judy Harrison | Bangor Daily News

HAMPDEN, Maine — Emerson Merrill-Maguire’s third birthday party last Sunday was pretty much like that of most boys his age. There were balloons, cake, ice cream and lots of presents. He was surrounded by family and friends armed with cameras that captured his reaction every time he dove into another gift bag.

One of the things that sets Emerson apart from most of the other boys who turned 3 this month is that both his parents are women. Melinda and Charissa Merrill-Maguire sat on either side of him in the living room at his party.

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NH Senate Poised for Vote on Gay Marriage

State divided over civil unions, gay marriage
by Margo Sullivan | The Eagle Tribune

DANVILLE — In the 23 years Kate Russell and her partner Lynn Taylor have been together, they’ve raised their children and embarked on the adventure of home ownership. They’re comfortable in the neighborhood and feel part of the community fabric.

“Maybe, we’re the token lesbians,” Russell laughed.

But she said she feels her family life is accepted. In fact, Russell and Taylor have matched strides with their straight neighbors at every milestone — except one.

They’ve never had a wedding.

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Marriage of Gays Is No Threat

by Donn Esmonde | Buffalo News

I sat on the couch in their comfortable living room. I watched them laugh at each other’s jokes. I heard them finish each other’s sentences. I saw the easy familiarity that comes with years of being together. They seemed like a lot of other middle-aged couples, only happier.

I think that most folks sitting in my place would have looked at the lovebirds and thought, no big deal. Few couples are less threatening than a 68-year-old retired librarian and a 54-year-old ex-telephone company worker who uses a cane. Their mutual affection hardly seems like an assault on the Republic, much less an affront to an institution. Sitting with them on a recent afternoon, the very notion seems silly.

It took only a few centuries, but most New Yorkers apparently share that point of view. A statewide Siena College poll last week showed that 53 percent of state residents would not not care if Madeline Davis and Wendy Smiley get married.

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