Community rallies around trans victim
The Baltimore Sun reports hundreds gathered April 25 at the Baltimore County McDonald’s where a violent attack against a transgender woman occurred recently. The rally drew together representatives of transgender, civil-rights and faith-based communities in a call to action to stop violence against all people.
Teonna Monae Brown, 18, was charged with first-degree assault and two counts of second-degree assault in the April 18 attack on Chrissy Lee Polis, 22. Brown is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center. Brown’s companion, a 14-year-old girl, was charged with second-degree assault.
Polis called the attack a hate crime, and the Baltimore County State’s Attorney said that he has not ruled out adding other charges to the case.
FBI arrests pastor in custody case
Yahoo News reports a Tennessee pastor who allegedly helped a woman abscond to central America with her 9-year-old daughter has been charged with aiding a kidnapping, in a long-running custody dispute between former lesbian partners.
Timothy David Miller, 34, of Crossville, Tenn., is accused of helping to arrange passage for Lisa Miller of Virginia and daughter Isabella Miller Jenkins, who are believed to be living in Nicaragua.
Lisa Miller and Janet Jenkins were joined in a Vermont civil union in 2000. Isabella was born to Miller in 2002, and the couple broke up the following year.
Miller then moved to Virginia and renounced homosexuality. She was granted custody of Isabella, but Jenkins got visitation rights.
Courts in Vermont and Virginia have since ruled in favor of Jenkins on the custody issue.
Miller failed to appear with the girl for a court-ordered Jan. 1, 2010, custody swap. A federal arrest warrant has since been issued for her.
Texas works to close college LGBT centers
Advocate.com reports that, in an effort to end governmental support for LGBT centers on public college campuses, the Texas House of Representatives passed a budget provision requiring any school with a gay center to offer the same financial support to a “traditional values” center.
The group that worked with the bill’s sponsor, Wayne Christian, is the Young Conservatives of Texas. The group’s senior vice chairman, Tony McDonald, admits he hopes all public universities in Texas will de-fund LGBT centers rather than provide equal money for conservative centers.
— compiled by Larry Nichols