Transgender woman sues prison

Advocate.com reports that a recent parolee is suing the California state prison system and several guards over the state’s policy regarding transgender inmates.

Alexis Giraldo was born as a man but lives as a woman, taking hormones to maintain her appearance. She claims that prison officials did not protect her as her male cellmate repeatedly raped and beat her.

Giraldo, 30, claims Folsom State Prison guards ignored her complaints and returned her to the same cell until she was assaulted again. She was then placed in protective custody and moved to another facility.

Giraldo is suing for emotional distress and violating her constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.

Anti-gay group ends ballot push

365gay.com reports that an organization that has fought to end same-sex marriage in Massachusetts has backed off of plans to put the issue on the 2010 ballot.

In June, VoteOnMarriage failed to get a proposed amendment banning gay marriage on the ballot in 2008.

The organization had collected enough signatures to advance the amendment, and it passed the first of a two-stage legislature approval process last January. But when it came up for a second vote last month, the measure failed to get the 50 votes it needed in a joint session of the House and Senate.

VoteOnMarriage had collected 170,000 signatures, but the measure’s failure to advance means the group must start the process of collecting signatures over again.

The organization said it will now focus on 2012.

Fla. mayor draws ire

Miamiherald.com reports that Jim Naugle, Fort Lauderdale’s outspoken Democratic mayor, has drawn intense criticism from the local gay community, leading some residents and merchants to seek his ousting.

Naugle recently made comments suggesting that $250,000 single-occupancy toilets should be bought for the beaches to cut down on gay sex in larger public bathrooms and voted against moving the Stonewall Library, a nationally recognized collection of gay and lesbian literature, into a city building.

Gay activists and close to 200 local residents and businesses raised about $10,000 to pay for July 24 rally protesting Naugle outside Fort Lauderdale City Hall.