e Transgender - Gender News & Resource Community Forum

A federal district court judge in Boston today struck down the 1996 federal law that defines marriage as a union exclusively between a man and a woman.

"This court has determined that it is clearly within the authority of the Commonwealth to recognize same-sex marriages among its residents, and to afford those individuals in same-sex marriages any benefits, rights, and privileges to which they are entitled by virtue of their marital status," Tauro wrote. "The federal government, by enacting and enforcing DOMA, plainly encroaches upon the firmly entrenched province of the state." cite

The court sentenced Monday a Brazilian transsexual to 40 months in jail for allegedly importing 360 grams of cocaine. The individual, man born in 1978 but became a woman, was arrested March 22, 2010 at Brussels Airport with 52 pellets of cocaine in the body.

She said she acted this way for the first time because she wanted to help her family.

In Sao Paolo, he works as a hairdresser and a prostitute, but its activities do not allow it to make ends meet. One of his acquaintances had promised him a sum of 3,000 euros if he was carrying drugs. The prosecutor doubted her story. Her name having appeared several times on the passenger list, the prosecutor said she had made several trips.