Free Republic

AS many Americans know, last week Gov. John Baldacci of Maine signed a law that made this state the fifth in the nation to legalize gay marriage. It’s worth pointing out, however, that there were some legal same-sex marriages in Maine already, just as there probably are in all 50 states. These are marriages in which at least one member of the couple has changed genders since the wedding. I’m in such a marriage myself and, quite frankly, my spouse and I forget most of the time that there is anything particularly unique about our family, even if we are...

(ChattahBox) — A bizarre case of spousal abuse with an unknown motive ended in a transgendered woman pleading guilty to reckless homicide for exercising her 73-year-old husband to death in a swimming pool. Police in Middlefield, Ohio, said surveillance video showed 41-year-old Christine Newton-John (photo left) pulling James Mason around the pool by his arms and legs and preventing him from leaving. Mason eventually had a heart attack on June 2 after the extended swim session. Police Chief Joseph Stehlik said he counted 43 times on the videotape in which Newton-John prevented her frail husband from leaving the water. He...

Diane Schroer, a 52-year-old former Army Special Forces commander, testified yesterday in federal court that she was "disappointed and dismayed" when an official at the Library of Congress rescinded a job offer even though she was the star candidate. The offer, for a job as a terrorism research analyst, was pulled the day after Schroer told her future boss that she was making the medical transition from being a man, David, to being a woman, Diane. "I honestly felt a little surprised and shocked," Schroer testified during the first day of the trial in her discrimination lawsuit against the Library...

He has been called "demonic," "barbaric," and has been compared to Nazi doctors. And when you read about his work, it is easy to see why Americans are so outraged. Dr. Norman Spack is a pediatric endocrinologist at Boston Children's Hospital. Not long ago, he opened a clinic for what he terms "transgendered" children. Incredibly, he is giving kids as young as seven drugs that delay the onset of puberty—the first step in sex-change surgery when they are older. Spack injects children with hormone-blocking drugs to prevent them from developing secondary sexual characteristics, like breasts or facial hair. The idea...

Boston’s Children’s Hospital bills itself as the hospital for children — and now it’s also the hospital for children who want a sex change, a procedure some critics are calling “barbaric.” Dr. Norman Spack, a pediatric specialist at the hospital, has launched a clinic for transgendered kids — boys who feel like girls, girls who want to be boys — and he’s opening his doors to patients as young as 7.

"This isn't conjecture. Its happening now" A doctor at the renowned Children's Hospital Boston has launched a new program to drug children to delay puberty so they can decide whether they want a male or a female body, according to a report today in the Boston Globe.

Thousands of Oregonians a year change their names. But the case of a Bend resident who says he is legally male and five months pregnant has highlighted the much smaller numbers who legally change their sex. That option exists in Oregon, as in most states, for transsexuals who switch genders. "Oregon's law is very typical," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. The crux of the decades-old law is one sentence. The same court with jurisdiction over legal name changes "may order a legal change of sex and enter a judgment indicating...

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell U by: Malcolm A. Kline, December 06, 2007 It looks like the university named after the father of our country has figured out a way to move gender studies to the next level. “Every Wednesday afternoon this past summer, a retired Army colonel named Jeff left his consulting job at a military base and headed to George Washington University,” Jennifer Ruark reported in the September 7, 2007 issue of The Chronicle of Higher Education. “But first he stopped at home to change into a skirt.” “By the time he arrived at the university’s Speech and Hearing...

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — High on prescription painkillers and four days without sleep, Michael Berke raced his Harley to the megachurch where he’d found a home. He barged into the church office, cursing loudly and wearing a mesh shirt printed with profanity. In his hands he held a picture of a woman with long, red hair and pouty lips. “This is who I used to be,” he said. “And this” — he gestured to his breastless chest, bald head and red goatee — “is who I’ve become.” He was born a man. After a lifetime as a social misfit,...

SAUDI ARABIA: WOMAN CHANGES SEX, DREAMS OF DRIVER'S LICENCE (ANSAmed) - RIYADH, AUGUST 21 - A 19-year-old Saudi Arabian woman, Myriam, has undergone a successful sex-change operation in Jeddah and now, with her new name of Khaled, aspires for just one thing: a driving licence. Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are banned from driving, added Okaz daily, reporting the news today. "The first idea that came to my mind a few hours before the operation, was to have a driving licence," Myriam/Khaled told the newspaper, adding she was encouraged by her family to have...

WASHINGTON — Four supporters of Barack Obama were getting a rare chance to dine with the Democratic presidential candidate Tuesday night, with one change to the guest list. Florida firefighter Jennifer Lasko, chosen from among thousands of small-dollar donors, declined her invitation after local media reported that she used to be a man named John. Aides to the Illinois senator said they weren't aware of Lasko's sex change before inviting her, but they encouraged her to attend after the news reports surfaced. Lasko decided that she did not want the attention that the dinner would attract. "We would have loved...

I feel bad for Jennifer Lasko, the Delray Beach firefighter who made a significant sacrifice for her favorite presidential candidate. Especially because it's an unnecessary sacrifice. Lasko, 42, was one of four Americans selected from thousands of essay-writing supporters of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama to have dinner with the candidate on July 10. Lasko donated $25 to the Obama campaign and wrote about her transformation from a Republican to a Democrat. And she has an interesting background, including service as an officer in the Army and a job helping people in distress right here in Palm Beach County. At first,...

A United Methodist minister in Baltimore informed the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church of a name change, along with a change of gender. The former Rev. Ann Gordon now reportedly adopted a male identity as Rev. Drew Phoenix. The issue will be discussed Thursday at a closed session during the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. The minister's name change is already reflected on her church's website, www.stjohnsbaltimore.org, Christian Newswire reported Tuesday. In 2002, the Baltimore-Washington Conference had a similar controversy, when Rev. Richard Zimostny had a sex change operation and became Rebecca...

Woman minister re-appointed – as a man 'Who am I? I AM…' minister says after sex change procedure Posted: May 26, 2007 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2007 WorldNetDaily.com A woman who has served as minister at St. John's United Methodist Church in Baltimore for five years has been re-appointed to the position – as a man, according to church officials. The announcement came at the Baltimore-Washington annual conference of the UMC, where the former Ann Gordon announced the change to Drew Phoenix, and talked of a "spiritual transformation" since the sex change procedure. The move was not without challenge. Some...

Britain's first sex-change mayor is to be sworn in at a special ceremony today. Jenny Bailey, 45, who was born a man, will be made civic leader of Cambridge City Council. The mayoress is expected to be her partner, former councillor Jennifer Liddle, 49, who also underwent a sex swap. The pair met while undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Ms Bailey, who has two children aged 20 and 18, and was once married, had a sex change operation when she was in her 30s. A spokesman for the Local Government Association confirmed she would be the first transgender mayor in the...

The job prospects for the former city manager of Largo -- recently fired after revealing he was preparing for a sex-change operation -- are looking rosier. Steve Stanton, dismissed in March from the post he had held for 14 years, is one of the front-runners for the city manager job in nearby Sarasota. While his job description and title would remain the same, there is one notable change. His updated résumé lists his first name as ''Susan,'' followed by an asterisk and footnote simply stating, ``legal name change pending.'' Stanton's very public decision to live his life as a woman...

Living in L.A., as I do, I don’t have wonderful choices when it comes to my local newspapers. There’s the parochial Daily News, which focuses its attention on the San Fernando Valley. This is fine, if you happen to be more interested in the war on potholes than the war on Islamic terrorism. The alternative rag is the L.A. Times. They slant the news so far to the left, the words almost slide off the page. A person could easily jump to the conclusion that the entire editorial board cut their teeth on Pravda and the Daily Worker. Instead of...

BERKELEY -- By a unanimous vote, the Berkeley City Council took the first step Tuesday night toward including sex change surgery in employee health care benefits. The proposal is modeled after a similar benefit in effect in San Francisco since 2001. The council ordered the city manager to create a feasibility study before the measure comes back to the council in six months for final approval. The vote was cast without comment, in contrast to the media frenzy that broke out last week after the proposal was put on the agenda. Councilman Darryl Moore, who co-sponsored the resolution with his...

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - State lawmakers mocked sex changes while debating a bill that would have made it easier to get a new birth certificate after switching genders in another country. The legislation came up shortly after a debate about neutering deer to control their population. Republican Rep. Chapin Rose joked that the state might start issuing sex-change documents to deer. Republican Rep. Bill Black said he objects to recognizing non-surgical sex changes. "Maybe you went somewhere and a voodoo doctor said you were now a man, where you had been a woman," Black said. "I've often thought that perhaps I...

LARGO, Fla. — A city manager facing dismissal after going public with plans to get a sex change said Thursday that he plans to fight to keep his job, because his case represents the struggle "to deal with morality, sexuality and gender." Steve Stanton said he would try to persuade the Largo City Commission to reverse its 5-2 vote last month to begin the process of firing him. His appeal means the commission must now hold another public hearing so he can make a final appeal to keep the post he has held for 14 years. "I want to get...