Trans minister Reverend Jo Inkpin makes history in Uniting Church
Australian church leader Reverend Josephine ‘Jo’ Inkpin has described her joy after becoming the first openly transgender person inducted into a mainstream church. Originally from the UK, Rev Inkpin (pictured) has served within the Anglican Church in Australia for over 20 years. In 2017, she came out as transgender while head of the Anglican Church …
Twenty years ago, the world’s first legal same-sex marriages began
Twenty years ago this week, the world’s first same-sex marriage legislation officially came into effect in the Netherlands. The country’s House of Representatives passed the same-sex marriage bill 109 votes to 33 on September 12, 2000. The Senate followed suit a few months later. The landmark marriage laws granted same-sex couples the same legal rights …
Axe-wielding Sydney lesbian couple arrested after wild alleged crime spree
A Sydney lesbian couple has been arrested for allegedly committing three armed robberies in one night while armed with an axe, a hammer, and knives. Police arrested and charged Eleanor Ashford, 23, and Sarah Canceri, 23, with stealing money and cigarettes from three different gas stations in the Sydney area over a two-hour period last …
New Assistant Women’s Minister Amanda Stoker under fire for trans views
Queensland Liberal Senator Amanda Stoker has come under fire for her views on transgender issues after Prime Minister Scott Morrison appointed her Assistant Minister for Women. Senator Stoker received the new role in Scott Morrison’s cabinet reshuffle on Monday, amid a series of ongoing scandals around the treatment of women. But the Queensland Senator’s past …
South Australian man bound and tortured by Grindr attacker
A South Australian man is facing years in prison after luring an elderly man on Grindr and torturing him for four hours in an alleged vigilante attack. 21-year-old Charlie Michael Edward Caire found the victim on Grindr before capturing him and torturing him in Murray Bridge in February 2020, The Advertiser reported. Prosecutor Ben Sturn …
Man jailed for death of Filipina trans woman Mhelody Bruno
A New South Wales man convicted of the manslaughter of Filipina trans woman Mhelody Bruno has been sentenced to 22 months in jail after initially avoiding prison in a sentencing error. A Wagga Wagga District Court judge initially sentenced Rian Ross Toyer on March 19 for Mhelody Bruno’s manslaughter. Bruno fell unconscious when Toyer choked …
Red Cross Lifeblood clarifies donation rules after gay man on PrEP turned away
Australia’s Red Cross Lifeblood donation service has apologised to a gay man on PrEP who was incorrectly told he could donate while taking the medication. From January 31, men who have sex with men (MSM) and some trans donors are permitted to give blood if they haven’t been sexually active for three months. The new …
Call for judge to head new investigation into unsolved gay hate murders
A bipartisan parliamentary committee has called on the New South Wales government to appoint a judge to re-examine dozens of potential historical gay hate murders in the state. The parliamentary inquiry was established in September 2018 to examine a string of historical gay and transgender hate crimes between 1970 and 2010. The committee’s report, not …
Sydney women’s pool members dump management after trans controversy
The managing committee of the McIvers Ladies Baths in Sydney has been ousted by members in the wake of the pool’s recent transphobia controversy. McIver’s Ladies’ Baths in Coogee came under fire in January after announcing only trans women who had undergone surgery could use the ocean pool, devastating some frequent trans patrons. The heritage-listed …
Mhelody Bruno’s killer to be resentenced after avoiding jail time
A New South Wales man convicted for the death of Filipina trans woman Mhelody Bruno will be re-sentenced after avoiding jail for her manslaughter. Rian Ross Toyer, a former corporal in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), was sentenced last Friday (March 19) for the manslaughter of Mhelody Bruno in September 2019. Bruno fell unconscious …