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The transgender victim of a brutal beat-down at a Maryland McDonald's broke her silence to call the attack a "hate crime," and says it's not the first time she's been assaulted. Chrissy Lee Polis told the Baltimore Sun on Saturday the incident, which was captured on video and posted online, has left her "afraid to go outside." "I want to cry, but I need to hold my head up," she said, adding that she's been beaten and sexually assaulted in the past because of her sexual identity.

The transgender community is organizing a rally outside a Baltimore County McDonald's Monday night to condemn the severe beating of a transgender woman at the fast-food restaurant. The rally is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the McDonald's, located at 6315 Kenwood Ave. in Rosedale. SNIP Sandy Rawls, founding director of Trans-United, a Baltimore-based organization that works to decrease discrimination against transgender people, said nearly 100 people have indicated on a Facebook page that they will attend the rally. She said the event is intended to raise awareness of hate crimes against transgender people.

Late Wednesday afternoon, without advance notice and without fanfare, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed an Executive Order mandating the acceptance of "gender identity and expression" -- including transsexuality, cross-dressing, and related behaviors - throughout state government. The order also requires affirmative action in the hiring of transsexuals and diversity training for all state employees.

Worse 'job' in the world...

President Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department.The kicker? Simpson is a shemale. Just look at the name, "A Man Da." Shiver. I don't by the whole transgendered thing. I'm sorry you don't feel comfortable in the skin God gave you, but chopping off your dangley bits isn't the answer, medication and counseling is. God doesn't make mistakes, men do. In a statement, Simpson, a member of the National Center for Transgender Equality's board of directors, said that "as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope...

WILLIAMSBURG History was made without fanfare on Saturday. Jessee Vasold, William and Mary's first transgender homecoming queen, took the field at halftime of the Tribe's game against James Madison wearing a red shirt, black pants and a small silver lip ring to applause and not much other notice. Vasold, a junior, and the other members of the homecoming court were introduced to the crowd, posed for pictures, and walked off the field. "I knew I was nominated, but I was just surprised, because there were a lot of other really good candidates on the ballot," Vasold said. "I know all...

Josie Romero loves the colour pink, braiding her hair and having her fingernails painted. But life has not always been easy for this sweet and charming eight-year-old, who was born in the body of a boy. The transgender youngster, then called Joseph, knew at the age of four that she was the wrong sex and even told her parents: 'I am really a girl.' At five, she was refusing to have her hair cut and only wore colours like orange which were nearest to girly pink. By the time she reached six, Josie had been diagnosed as transgender and was...

A 12-year-old boy reported to have changed sex faces "a critical moment" in his life, a transgender campaign group has said. Bernard Reed, a trustee of the Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES), said teachers and pupils at the child's secondary school in southern England were key to his future. The child's parents gave him a girl's name by deed poll and allowed him to wear a dress to school, according to The Sun. The paper said teachers at the school, which has not been identified, called an emergency assembly to explain to pupils the boy would now be...

Boy, 12, Is Having Sex Change, School Announces A school called an emergency assembly to tell children that a 12-year-old male pupil was having a sex change. By Murray Wardrop 18 Sep 2009 The youngster arrived for his first term at secondary school wearing a dress and with long hair in ribboned pigtails after his parents changed his name to a female one by deed poll over the summer holidays. However, the boy, who is preparing to undergo hormone treatment and sex change surgery, was immediately taunted by classmates who recognised him from primary school. As a result, the 1,000-pupil...

A transgender driver's return behind the wheel of a taxi has lasted just a month. Andre Edwards, 51, walked out of her job at Leyland-based Eco Cabs following a series of rows with her new bosses – and they don't want her back. The move comes less than a month after the Evening Post revealed how the company, based on Mellor Road, had given her a chance to work two months after she was sacked from Leyland Taxis

The Silverton, Oregon, city council has censured its transgender mayor. Mayor Stu Rasmussen admitted to wearing an open-back bathing suit, mini skirt, and high heels when he spoke before a group of children at a non-profit organization. A person attending the speech was displeased and filed a complaint. Andrea Lafferty is with the Traditional Values Coalition. "This is a man who's dressing like a woman. He was born a man. He has male DNA. That cannot change," she believes. Lafferty says the idea of making the appearance in front of children is an affront to parents who do not want...

Jeremy was refused entry to his high school prom when he arrived in a gown and makeup instead of a tuxedo. KUAM, Guam’s news network, reports that officials at George Washington High School in Guam refunded the money Jeremy spent for a prom ticket, but are unsympathetic about the $400 he spent on clothing and other items, and will not issue him the apology that he wants for being unable to attend the prom. Jeremy claims that he was discriminated against when he was denied entry. “I said, ‘Where does it state in this rule in this paper that there’s...

“How do you tell your kids that mommy is now a daddy? Or that a daddy is now a mommy?” Leave it to ABC to raise these questions on “Good Morning America.” A July 21 segment previewed “Primetime Family Secrets” airing later that night about a transgender woman and the effects of the decision on his family. Correspondent Juju Chang documented the Prince family for one year. In 2008 Ted Prince became “Chloe” through a sex change and his wife, Rene, stayed with him. The couple has two sons: Logan is 7 1/2 and Barry is 6. Since the...

LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. — When word got out that Mr. McBeth, a popular substitute teacher at two southern New Jersey school districts was about to come back to class as Miss McBeth, it caused an uproar. The former William McBeth had undergone sex reassignment surgery and was now Lily McBeth. The schools' 2006 decisions to keep her on as a substitute were hailed around the nation as a model of tolerance and acceptance of transgender Americans. But the storybook ending never happened: She got only a handful of assignments since then and is resigning in frustration.

In high school, music was Bill Zircher’s thing, mostly drums. He studied electrical engineering in college. In 1994 he married a woman he met in a band. The couple had a daughter, and Zircher was thrilled to be a father. Dana Zircher still plays the drums, is still a self-described high-tech nerd, and still a parent. She still works as a software design engineer for Microsoft in Beverly, though she now uses the ladies’ room instead of the men’s. As part of an aggressive grass-roots campaign, Zircher will testify today at a State House hearing in favor of civil rights...

AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Human Rights Commission ruled Monday that the Orono School Department discriminated against a transgender child by denying her access to the girls bathroom. While the school department’s lawyer warned that schools around the state may not be ready to manage the practical fallout from the decision, civil liberties advocates hailed the ruling as an advancement of human rights.

Lawyers for President Obama are quietly drafting first-of-their kind guidelines barring workplace discrimination against transgender federal employees, officials said Tuesday. The guidelines will be in an updated federal handbook for managers and supervisors to be distributed and posted online in the next couple of months, and they could also be included in other materials for managers. They will list transgender people — those who identify their gender differently from the information on their birth certificates — as among several groups protected by antidiscrimination laws. Though transgender men and women are not believed to make up more than a fraction of...

Cher's former daughter Chastity Bono has stepped out for the first time since undergoing a sex change. The 40-year-old activist, who now wants to be known as Chaz, made his debut as a man after beginning the surgical process earlier this year. Chaz, who now refers to himself as a 'he', was spotted enjoying a massage in West Hollywood yesterday. Wearing combat shorts, T-shirt, trainers and baseball cap, Chaz certainly passed for an overweight American male as he left the Body Well in Santa Monica Boulevard on Tuesday

Political and social activist Chastity Bono – the only child of entertainers Cher and the late Sonny Bono – began undergoing a sex change shortly after her 40th birthday on March 4. "Cher is very supportive and has known about Chastity wanting to do this for a very long time," a source tells PEOPLE. "This will be a long process but it's something Chastity has wanted to do for many years." Bono's spokesman, Howard Bragman, told TMZ, which first reported the story, "Yes, it's true – Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his...

Los Angeles, CA (BANG) - Cher's daughter is having a sex change. Chastity Bono - the 40-year-old daughter of the "Believe" singer and her late husband Sonny - began the lengthy gender reassignment process earlier this year. She has asked family and friends to call her Chaz, and will have surgery to give her male genitals later this year. Her spokesman said: "Chaz has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity. He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by loved ones." "It is Chaz's hope that his...