Insurance Companies Ordered To Stop Denying Gender-Reassignment Surgery In D.C.

Insurance companies in the District of Columbia have been ordered to stop denying coverage to transgender residents seeking gender-reassignment surgery. Mayor Vincent Gray says the new rules will end health-care discrimination against the transgender population and put “the district at the forefront of advancing the rights of transgender individuals.” The District joins five states that guarantee such coverage.

Read more over at CBS.

100 LGBTQ Black Women You Should Know: The Epic Black History Month Megapost

Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and transgender women represent a vibrant and visible portion of the LGBTQ community. In addition to the legends of the Harlem Renaissance and the decades of groundbreaking activism spearheaded by women like Audre Lorde, Barbara Smith and Angela Davis, many of the most prominent coming out stories of the past two years have been black women like Brittney Griner, Raven-Symonè, Diana King and Robin Roberts. Meanwhile, Laverne Cox and Janet Mock have become the most visible transgender women in media.

So, in honor of Black History Month, [on Autostraddle] you’ll find over 100 lesbian, bisexual, gay, queer and transgender women you should know about.

Check them out here.

Jason Collins and Michael Sam Recast View of Black Manhood

Brooklyn Nets basketball player Jason Collins and NFL hopeful Michael Sam are poised to do more than reshape what it means to be openly gay athletes on the national stage, according to at least one LGBT advocate: Their high-profile roles in professional sports may “push the construct” of black manhood.

“This is extremely significant,” said Kimberley McLeod, an African-American who runsElixher, a magazine and blog for black LGBT women. “Sports and pop culture play such a huge role in forming our values and beliefs. … They are expanding the definition of what it means to be a black man and highlighting our common humanity in the process.

“They are saying that they should not be treated any differently than anyone else,” she said. “It’s exciting that they are at the forefront of the national conversation.”

Whether that discussion finds common ground remains to be seen, given some of the deep resistance to homosexuality within the black religious community and its cool relations with LGBT advocates.

Read more at ABC News.

Arizona and Uganda: How the Same Groups Spread the Same Hate Around the Globe

Let’s be clear that the U.S. might not have to be responding at all if not for American evangelical Christians in this country who traveled to Africa and other countries and spread the hate and took advantage of discontent. It’s widely known that Scott Lively, the American evangelist who published a book erroneously claiming that homosexuality gave rise to the the Nazis, sowed the seeds of hate in Uganda beginning years back. And, as blogger Joe Jervis revealed in 2010, the Family Researching Council, now enraged by the backlash against Arizona’s anti-gay law,lobbied Congress not to pass a resolution condemning the Uganda bill.

More on the Huffington Post.

Task Force Review is Critical of How D.C. Police Handle LGBT Bias Cases

D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier acknowledged Wednesday that the department has “fallen short” in building strong bonds with gay men and lesbians and victims of hate crimes, and she vowed to implement many of the recommendations of a task force convened at her request.

Lanier said in the task force’s report that the department needs “to revise and update training across the board” in relation to LGBT issues and victims of hate crimes. She added that the department won’t expand its liaison officers program for now, although “it is clear that the performance and commitment of current members must be reviewed and evaluated.”

Continue reading on the Washington Post.