Following a series of stories that mis-gendered and dehumanized a transgender murder victim in Cleveland, the Plain Dealer newspaper has agreed to meet with local transgender advocates.
GLAAD, Equality Ohio, TransOhio and Cleveland's LGBT Community Center are working to address anti-transgender local coverage of the story of a Cleveland transgender woman, Cemia Acoff, who was found dead earlier this month.
An openly gay Ohio teen has filed a lawsuit against his high school for refusing to allow him to wear a t-shirt featuring a rainbow-colored fish and the words “Jesus is Not a Homophobe.” Maverick Couch first wore the t-shirt, and was told to remove it, during last year’s Day of Silence, a campaign organized by GLSEN to bring awareness to the silencing of LGBT students through bullying and harassment.
"Ohio must have the courage to confront bullying," said Ed Mullen, the executive director of Equality Ohio. "Until our state's laws and school policies specifically address this problem, bullying will continue unabated and schools will remain unsafe."
More than 1,500 New Yorkers gathered today in Manhattan to mourn the death of a 32 year-old gay man, who was shot down on Friday just blocks away from the historic Stonewall Inn in an apparent act of anti-gay bias.
