In LGBT News this Week....

Click the links below for the full stories.

The Good:

Vermont's Gendertopia

No, I admire Vermont's recent standing as the 4th state to legalize gay marriage and for the after school program at Burlington High School called Gendertopia. The program helps students understand the vast spectrum of gender and sexuality past male/female, gay/straight. Amazing! Gendertopia is partly funded with tax dollars and run by Outright Vermont, Vermont's queer youth center and advocacy organization. The program teaches the difference between gender and sexuality, has students go into their community and photograph ways gender is translated in pop culture and explores the damaging ways homophobia and transphobia affect the individuals on the receiving end.

The Bad, and the Ugly:

Supreme Court rejects challenge to Don't Ask, Don't Tell

The Supreme Court has turned down a challenge to the Pentagon policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting a request by the Obama administration.

The court said Monday that it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional.

Another Trans Person Shot in Memphis

Last Wednesday, Memphis resident Kelvin Denton was shot in the nose and throat. According to police documents, the alleged shooter Terron Taylor says that he committed the assault because Denton misrepresented hir gender.

Kelvin Denton is currently still in critical condition. Details are short at the moment, and so how Denton self-identifies with regards to gender is currently unclear; The Memphis Flyer and Helen G report that Denton is a trans woman, while the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition says that the details of Denton’s life are still unknown and declines to speculate on hir gender identity. (For that reason, I will be using gender neutral pronouns in this post, and update later if/when Denton’s gender identity becomes known.)