Editors Note:
The following posts are intended as informational and not a declaration of support or condemnation of the news, articles, or events listed. It is important to understand the world we liive in in order to make sound personal and biblical choices. These few articles are gleened from the website to help educate. Always take any information offered with “a grain of salt” understanding that stories, or news items, are always presented from an individual’s world view and received through the filters of our own personal world views. The challenge is to find nuggets of truth by sifting through the editorializing. If you completely agree with a story, ask yourself why? If you find a story offensive, again ask why? One of the blessings of being transgender is to understand the middle ground; to attempt to be a healer of a world that is increasingly polarized.
– Light in the Closet
Federal judge says Idaho cannot ban transgender athletes from women’s sports teams
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By Madeline Holcombe and Andy Rose, CNN
August 18, 2020
(CNN) A federal judge says transgender women and girls in Idaho cannot be banned from sports teams corresponding to their gender, blocking an Idaho law that attempted to do so.”This is a victory for all women and girls in Idaho. Trans people belong in sports,” wrote the American Civil Liberties Union, which provided legal representation in the case. Read more…
Judge Blocks Trump Officials’ Attempt to End Transgender Health Protections
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By Margot Sanger-Katz and Noah Weiland
Aug. 17, 2020
The decision arrived a day before a Trump administration rule narrowing the legal definition of sex discrimination was set to take effect.
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday blocked an effort by the Trump administration to erase protections for transgender patients against discrimination by doctors, hospitals and health insurance companies, dealing a blow to the broader legal reasoning it has used to try to roll back transgender rights across the government. Read more…
Christian conservatives rattled after Supreme Court rules against LGBT discrimination
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By Sarah Pulliam Bailey
June 15, 2020
In a landmark decision on Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that the federal law barring employment discrimination on the basis of sex also applies to sexuality and gender identity. The ruling was met with widespread praise among LGBT rights groups, which have long argued against such employment discrimination. Read more…
Baptist Pastor Fired After Coming Out As Transgender Woman During Sermon
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June 2020
An Ontario pastor has been relieved from her position for coming out as a transgender woman during a sermon after her church members voted to remove her. In an online congregation held June 14 via Zoom, the former lead pastor at Lorne Park Baptist Church in Mississauga, Junia ‘June’ Joplin, made the declaration saying, “I want you to hear me when I tell you that I’m not just supposed to be a pastor. I’m supposed to be a woman. My friends, my family, my name is Junia. You can call me June. I’m a transgender woman and my pronouns are she and her.” Read more…
Transgender Latina makes history as Evangelical Lutheran pastor
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By Quinn Gawronski
Dec. 12, 2019
“Nobody can question my faith, my devotion to Christ, my devotion to the church,” Pastor Nicole Garcia said. “Being trans is secondary.”
Before coming out as transgender, Nicole Garcia prayed daily that God would “fix” her. When her prayers weren’t answered and the feeling in her gut didn’t go away, she gave up on religion.
Now, nearly four decades later, Garcia stands behind the pulpit at Westview Lutheran Church in Boulder, Colorado, and delivers weekly sermons to a congregation of more than 100 faithful as their ordained pastor. Read more…