Alaska to allow transgender individuals to change gender marker on driver’s licenses News
Alaska to allow transgender individuals to change gender marker on driver’s licenses
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[JURIST] Alaska Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell [official website] issued a regulation on Thursday that allows transgender individuals to change the sex indicator on their driver’s licenses without undergoing surgery. Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed a lawsuit against Alaska on behalf of a transgender woman, KL, who was told by the Department of Motor Vehicles that her driver’s license would be revoked unless she submitted proof of having surgery. The Alaska Superior Court [official website] held [ACLU press release] that the DMV had to produce a new and more appropriate regulation for transgender people within six months. The ACLU praised the new driver’s license regulation [press release], saying that it recognizes the important and legitimate needs of transgender Alaskans. The new regulation is scheduled to take effect on August 11.

LGBT rights have been a contentious issue worldwide. Three weeks ago, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon [official profile] called for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation [JURIST report]. In June, Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] urged [JURIST report] Bulgarian Justice Minister Diana Kovacheva to denounce calls to violence by anti-gay groups in anticipation of a LGBT pride parade in Sofia, Bulgaria. During the same month, Ugandan Minister of State for Ethics and Integrity Simon Lokodo said [JURIST report] that the government was not discriminating based on sexual orientation. The statement came days after the government had announced [JURIST report] that it would ban at least 38 non-governmental organizations that are accused of recruiting children to homosexuality. Earlier that month, a prominent Russian gay rights activist filed a complaint [JURIST report] with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) challenging a St. Petersburg city ordinance that prohibits the spreading “homosexual propaganda” to minors. The ECHR ruled that a Moldova law banning gay groups from protesting in front of the country’s parliament violated citizens’ rights [JURIST report] to peacefully assemble and to be free from discrimination. Last month, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) released a report [JURIST report] concluding that in the US, incidents of hate-based murders against LGBT individuals increased in 2011.

THIS DAY @ LAW

38 Santee Sioux hanged by US for rebellion

On December 26, 1862, 38 Santee Sioux men were hanged in a mass execution for their roles in a rebellion against US authorities in Minnesota which left hundreds dead and made refugees of some 40,000 white settlers. Government annuities promised under a treaty with the Sioux had failed to arrive on schedule and credit for purchases was not advanced in the meantime, threatening the tribe with starvation. The Santee Sioux Tribe's members were deported first to South Dakota and ultimately to Nebraska, where they remain today. Learn more about the 1862 Minnesota Sioux Rebellion.

Louis XVI put on trial during French Revolution

On December 26, 1792, Romain de Sèze, a defense attorney for deposed King Louis XVI, presented a defense of his client. The former King was on trial before a French Revolutionary court on thirty-three charges, including treason and other crimes against the state. He was convicted on January 15, 1793 executed by guillotine on the following January 21.