LGBTQ civil rights leader Phyllis Lyon, who with her partner Del Martin made international headlines in June 2008 when they became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in California, died today in San Francisco. She was 95.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced new guidelines for blood donations that change the current one-year deferral for donations from men who have sex with men (MSM) to a three-month deferral. While a step in the right direction, the new guidance falls short of what many recognize as the optimal policy for enhancing the safety of the blood supply while ensuring it does not discriminate against gay, bisexual and transgender people—a policy based on the conduct of the potential donor rather than the donor’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Idaho Gov. Brad Little today signed into law legislation that bans transgender people from changing the gender marker on their birth certificates, despite a federal court ruling Lambda Legal won two years ago declaring such a policy unconstitutional.
The Idaho Senate today approved a bill already passed by the state House of Representatives that would ban transgender people from changing the sex listed on their birth certificates despite a federal court ruling two years ago declaring such a ban unconstitutional. Lambda Legal, which brought the lawsuit that resulted in that ruling, urged Idaho Gov. Brad Little to veto the bill when it lands on his desk.