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TG Hate Bill Makes Progress in Calif.
Contributed by Elizabether Parker
via UPI
June 23, 1998
SACRAMENTO, CA-- Legislation to strengthen prosecution of
gender-related hate crimes, including those involving people who dress
like the opposite sex, has won approval of the Senate Public Safety
Committee.
The bill by Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, would clarify
that sentence enhancements for hate crimes would apply to cases where the
victim's appearance, dress or behavior was found inappropriate by their
attacker.
Kuehl says few district attorneys outside Los Angeles and San
Francisco are bringing charges in attacks on transgender victims under
guidelines of present hate crimes law.
She says her bill would cover cases where, for example, the defendant
says, "I hate women and I'm going to beat you up because you're a woman,"
or says: "You aren't dressed like a woman. I'm going to beat you up."
Kuehl cited studies showing that cross-dressing people and others in
the transgender category are at greater risk of being attacked than the
general population.
Stuff A Wild Bikini!
Contributed by Elizabeth Parker
via Reuters
June 26, 1998
SAN FRANCISCO - For a grand prize of $100, entrants in the "How
to Stuff a Wild Bikini" contest at the Castro Theater in San
Francisco, Friday, July 17. The competition is open to "all
ages, genders and body types," says organizer Mark Huestis.
Participating in the event will be Troy Donahue and Sandra
Dee. To enter, please call (415) 863-0611 ... and not The
PEOPLE Daily.
Rockport Is Comfortable With Ru
Contributed by Dale Carlson
via Gay-Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
June 22, 1998
LOS ANGELES - A Rockport shoes ad which appeared in the June 14 Los Angeles Times, and
possibly in other outlets as well, features drag superstar RuPaul dressed in a
sharp suit, holding a cane (in boy drag) and wearing Rockport men's dress
shoes. RuPaul states, "I'm comfortable being a man." At the bottom of the
ad, the text reads: "be comfortable. uncompromise. start with your feet."
McDonald: Loser Again
Contributed by Elizabeth Parker
via Reuters
June 26, 1998
Because his movie "Dirty Work" performed so miserably at the
box office, former "Saturday Night Live" comic Norm
MacDonald has had the plug pulled from his proposed next
movie, "Ballbusted." Variety reports that the move by MGM
shocked the film's creative team, Scott Alexander and Larry
Karaszewski, who were set to make their directorial debut.
Their writing credits include "Ed Wood" and "The People vs.
Larry Flynt." "Ballbusted" is being shopped elsewhere.
MacDonald gained notoriety in the TG community when he made fun of the death of an FTM on national television two years ago.
SF Shelter for Battered Gays
Contributed by Rachelle Austin
via Reuters
June 26, 1998
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A community group in San
Francisco, where up to 30 percent of the population is thought
to be gay, plans to open the nation's first shelter for battered
gay and bisexual men, officials said Friday.
Community United Against Violence (CUAV), a group that
fights violence against gays and lesbians, said it plans to
reserve four beds at a homeless shelter for battered men.
``Battered gay men, like battered women, face a housing
crisis in attempting to leave violent relationships,'' said
Jennifer Rakowski, hate violence project coordinator at CUAV.
``It's been a problem that people have not wanted to
recognize ... but someone does not have to be married to someone
to be in a cycle of domestic violence,'' Rakowski said.
Rakowski said that while battered lesbian women may seek
refuge at four shelters in the city, it is extremely difficult
to find similar accommodations for battered men.
San Francisco Supervisor Mark Leno has asked that $37,000 of
the city's budget for the 1998-99 fiscal year be used to fund
the new program.
Under the new initiative, victims of domestic violence could
stay in the shelter for three months and then be eligible for
financial help to find a permanent place to live.
Citing figures from a 1992 book entitled ``Violent
Betrayal,'' CUAV said domestic violence is estimated to occur in
between 25 and 33 percent of same-sex relationships.
By comparison, estimates on the prevalence of domestic
violence in heterosexual relationships vary widely. Conservative
estimates suggest the problem exists in one in 10 relationships,
but the American Psychological Association says violence
against women occurs in 20 percent of dating couples.
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