Attend the LGBT Aging/Gen Silent CEU Program

Today, March 4, 2013, 4:00 pm

Regis College, 235 Wellesley St, Weston, MA | Get Directions » $10.00

On Monday, March 4, Hospice of the North Shore & Greater Boston (HNSGB) will hold an important program to better educate healthcare professionals on end-of-life care for LGBT seniors. The program will offer 2 CEU’s and include the showing of Gen Silent, the LGBT documentary by award-winning filmmaker Stu Maddux, followed by a discussion with guest speaker Bob Linscott, assistant director for the LGBT Project.

The program will take place from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in Alumnae Hall at:

Regis College;

235 Wellesley Street, Weston.

Registration begins at 3:30 p.m.

This professional education program offers 2 CEU’s for nurses, social workers, certified case managers and licensed mental health counselors. The cost for the program is $10. HNSGB would like to thank the sponsors of this event, Eastern Bank, Solimine, Landergan & Richardson Funeral Homes and Spano & Dawicki. 

For more information and to register contact HNSGB at 978-750-9325 or email mcrowe@hns.org.

Mass. Department of Education Issues Directive On Trans Students

A new directive from the Massachusetts Department of Education aims to make schools safe and affirming for transgender students by instructing administrators to let the youth use the bathroom and locker room corresponding to the student’s gender identity.

BY SUNNIVIE BRYDUM

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The Massachussets Department of Education on Friday issued an 11-page directive for educators dealing with transgender students, reports the Associated Press. The new directive instructs teachers and administrators to allow transgender and gender non-conforming students to use the bathrooms and play on the sports team that aligns with the student’s gender identity.  The rules were issued after the state board of education requested guidance on conforming to the state’s 2011 antidiscrimination law, which included transgender people, according to the AP.

“These students, because of widespread misunderstanding and lack of knowledge about their lives, are at a higher risk for peer ostracism, victimization, and bullying,” reads the directive.

The document also clarifies that trans students may access the locker room and changing facility that corresponds with their gender identity, regardless of physical anatomy. Advocates for transgender youth heralded the decision, saying it would help resolve confusion among teachers, parents, and school administrators struggling to support transgender students. The guidance will be “immensely helpful to those parents who have been struggling with making sure that the school environment is safe and welcoming of their child,” Gunner Scott of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition told the AP.

While some right-wing organizations condemned the document, claiming the rules force students to “ignore a basic truth of anatomy,” the directive clarified that the trans student’s safety and access to basic facilities trumps a non-transgender student’s possible discomfort at sharing those facilities.

“Discomfort is not a reason to deny access to the transgender student,” the document plainly states.

And students who persistently and intentionally use the wrong gender pronoun or name to refer to a trans student are subject to rebuke, according to the directive. Such behavior “should not be tolerated and can be grounds for student discipline,” reports the AP. Education department spokeswoman JC Considine responded to critics, who claimed that school restrooms are public accommodations and therefore not covered in the 2011 antidiscrimination bill. 

“We’re talking about the use of school facilities by students who have no choice but to be in a school building,” Considine told the AP. “Kids have to have restroom access.”

Oregon recently became the first state to offer medically necessary transition-related healthcare to trans youth covered under Medicaid. 

Barney Frank: I Want The Massachusetts Senate Appointment

By 

Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who just left the House of Representatives Thursday after 32 years, said Friday that he has told Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) that he would like an interim appointment to fill the Senate seat that would open if Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is confirmed as secretary of state.

“A few weeks ago said, I said I wasn’t interested. It was kind of like, you’re about to graduate and they said, you’ve got to go to summer school. But that [fiscal cliff] deal now means that February, March, and April are going to be among the most important months in American financial history,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“Yes, in fact, I’m not going to be coy, it’s not anything I’ve ever been good at. I’ve told the governor that I would now like, frankly, to be a part of that. It’s only a three-month period, I wouldn’t want to do anything more, but to be honest, it’s a little arrogant.”

Said Frank, “Coach, put me in.”

Click the header link above to read the full article and watch the video.

reuters: A federal appeals court in Boston found on Thursday that a U.S. law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to lawfully married same-sex couples in a ruling that promises to push the issue of gay marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court.  The ruling on the 1996 law, the Defense of Marriage Act, marked a victory for gay rights groups and U.S. President Barack Obama, whose administration announced last year it considered the law unconstitutional and would no longer defend it. READ MORE: Court says marriage law discriminates against gay couples 
Pop-upView Separately

reuters:

A federal appeals court in Boston found on Thursday that a U.S. law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to lawfully married same-sex couples in a ruling that promises to push the issue of gay marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court. 

The ruling on the 1996 law, the Defense of Marriage Act, marked a victory for gay rights groups and U.S. President Barack Obama, whose administration announced last year it considered the law unconstitutional and would no longer defend it.

READ MORE: Court says marriage law discriminates against gay couples 

(via safespacenetwork)

Source: reuters

Catholic School Cancels Victoria Kennedy Speech Over Pro-Gay Stances

By Trudy Ring

VICKI KENNEDY TED KENNEDY 390x (GETTY) ADVOCATE.COM
Vicki Kennedy and late husband, Ted Kennedy

A Massachusetts Catholic college has scrapped plans to have Victoria Kennedy, Ted Kennedy’s widow, deliver its commencement address, citing her support for marriage equality and abortion rights.

Robert J. McManus, the bishop of Worcester, Mass., pressured Anna Maria College in Paxton to cancel Kennedy’s speaking engagement and an honorary degree the college was to give her, Religion News Service reports. A spokesman for McManus said the bishop believes Catholic schools “should be honoring Catholics for their consistent public positions with the church, not for contrary positions with the church, especially on core issues such as the right to life and the sanctity of marriage.”

Actually, Victoria Kennedy has not been particularly outspoken on these matters, but her late husband was a strong advocate for LGBT rights and women’s reproductive freedom during his long tenure in the U.S. Senate. She issued a statement saying she was “disheartened” by the cancellation but understood the college’s position. Anna Maria College officials said they regretted withdrawing the invitation to Kennedy but had to take the action to maintain good relations with the local Catholic hierarchy. Read more here.

dinobearthemighty: MTPC Trans Youth and Parent Summit Registration is free! Ch-ch-ch-check it out. What is it?The goal of this summit is for youth 24 and under from Massachusetts/New England that identify with, or could fall under, the label ‘transgender’ or youth who are in some way connected to the transgender youth community, such as partners/friends, to meet and connect with other transgender and gender variant youth. At the summit, youth will have the opportunity to share ideas, learn about their legal rights, learn about the larger transgender community, participate in workshops and fun activities. Activities include: Dance, Gender Identity Groups, Exploring Your Voice: A Writing Workshop, Creating Art, Performance and Drag Exploration, Organizing in schools & communities, Health and Legal Information. Who is it for?It’s for youth 24 and under from Massachusetts that identify with, or could fall under, the label ‘transgender’. When is it?June 18, 2011 Doors open at 9:30 am, event starts at 10 am and ends at 5 pm Who will be there?Youth 24 and under from all over MA and Greater New England, and, in a separate track, their parents. Join our e-newsletter to be alerted to further information. What does it cost?The Transgender Youth Summit is free. Transportation stipends are also available for Massachusetts youth. OK, where is it?This year’s summit will be held at Fenway Health, 1340 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02215
Pop-upView Separately

dinobearthemighty:

MTPC Trans Youth and Parent Summit

Registration is free!

Ch-ch-ch-check it out.

What is it?
The goal of this summit is for youth 24 and under from Massachusetts/New England that identify with, or could fall under, the label ‘transgender’ or youth who are in some way connected to the transgender youth community, such as partners/friends, to meet and connect with other transgender and gender variant youth. At the summit, youth will have the opportunity to share ideas, learn about their legal rights, learn about the larger transgender community, participate in workshops and fun activities.

Activities include: Dance, Gender Identity Groups, Exploring Your Voice: A Writing Workshop, Creating Art, Performance and Drag Exploration, Organizing in schools & communities, Health and Legal Information.

Who is it for?
It’s for youth 24 and under from Massachusetts that identify with, or could fall under, the label ‘transgender’.

When is it?
June 18, 2011 
Doors open at 9:30 am, event starts at 10 am and ends at 5 pm

Who will be there?
Youth 24 and under from all over MA and Greater New England, and, in a separate track, their parents. Join our e-newsletter to be alerted to further information.

What does it cost?
The Transgender Youth Summit is free. Transportation stipends are also available for Massachusetts youth.

OK, where is it?
This year’s summit will be held at Fenway Health, 1340 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02215

(via breakthebinary)

Source: masstpc.org

Lesbians – both Episcopal priests – marry in Mass. church.

Two high Episcopalian leaders rung in the New Year by exchanging vows of marriage at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston on Saturday.

Rev. Katherine Handcook Ragsdale and Canon Mally Lloyd are the first lesbians to wed in the Episcopalian church. Conservative Anglican leaders immediately called the wedding “an act of defiance.”

Reverend David Anderson, president and CEO of the American Anglican Council said “this is another action of reckless disregard for the life of the Anglican Communion and the authority of the Bible by the Episcopal Church,” according to christiantoday.com.

Thomas Saw SSJE, Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts directed the ceremony.

“God always rejoices when two people who love each other make a life-long commitment in marriage to go deeper into the heart of God through each other,” Shaw said at the ceremony of 400 attendees, according to Virtue Online. “It’s a profound pleasure for me to celebrate with God and my friends, the marriage of Katherine and Mally.”

Both newlyweds are leaders in the church. Ragsdale, Dean of the historic Episcopal Divinity School is known for her strong stance on abortion. She says abortion is a blessing to those women who undergo them, not a tragedy. Lloyd, Canon to the Ordinary, was married to a man in her first marriage but has found new love with Ragsdale through their similar interests of spirituality and traveling.

“It’s astonishing how the world is changing,” said Ragsdale, according to Virtue Online. “Somehow, too, when you are in your 50s, certain things just aren’t as big a problem as they seemed in your 20s,” said Lloyd.

The Episcopal Church’s acceptance of gay marriage and the ordination of openly gay, non-celibate clergy, continues to divide the church. Some conservative dioceses have withdrawn from the American church as a result.

Gay Dean Marries Wife, Gets Canned

Christine M. Judd x390 (Cathedral High School) | ADVOCATE.COM

An athletic director at a high school in Springfield, Mass. says she was pressured to leave her position because she married her wife last month.

Christine Judd, dean of students and athletic director for Cathedral High School, stepped down after meeting with school administrators on Wednesday, according to The Republican newspaper.

Judd worked for the school for 12 years, where she rose from science teacher to dean of students and, three years ago, athletic director. While the state has allowed gay people to marry since 2004, same-sex marriage is still not sanctioned by the Catholic Church.

“Cathedral had nothing to do with this,” she said in the article. “This was a diocesan decision. In the end, the timing of this issue really affects the kids. That is where it has the most effect.”

The school’s website describes the former athletic director and dean as “one of the key members of the faculty and staff.”

“I’m hurt, but I wish nothing but the best for Cathedral, its students, the parents, the athletic teams, administration and faculty,” she said in the article. “I bleed purple [the school’s color].”

Frank Blasts NOM for Antigay Violence

Massachusetts congressman Barney Frank expressed anger after learning about an alleged assault at a rally for the National Organization for Marriage July 26.

Alice Hoenigman was among several counterprotesters at the Indiana statehouse. She said she approached the steps, where the NOM supporters were gathered, and was then punched in the stomach.

“People have a constitutional right to express themselves as they wish, and that right obviously applies even to people who for some reason have dedicated much of their lives to trying to diminish the lives of others,” Frank said in a statement Wednesday. “I do not understand what it is that drives people to spend so much time trying to take away the rights of those of us who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender, but they should understand that the freedom to do so in no way insulates them from those who disagree with their agenda from making their presence clear. For someone engaging in that right of peaceful counter-demonstration to be assaulted by a NOM attendee is wholly unacceptable and the leaders of this organization should be taking steps not simply to prevent any such behavior in the future, but to exclude from their ranks anyone who was engaged in it in the past.”