BUSINESS

Did Amazon allow the harassment of transgender employee and her husband?

Amazon may have grown into the mega-giant retailer it is today thanks to its innovative customer service policies, but one new lawsuit claims that they’re actually regressive in the work force. According to TechCrunch, the company is now facing a lawsuit from two former married employees who said that Amazon allowed them to be harassed and mistreated because one of them was transgendered.

HEALTH

Only 3% of Vancouver men are gay or bi – Yet another survey.

Forget what you may have heard about “one-in-10” people being gay — a long-discredited figure that arose in sexologist Dr. Alfred Kinsey’s 1940s research. This week, a team of public health researchers at the University of British Columbia believe they’ve finally come up with the most accurate-to-date measure of actually how many men have sex with men, at least in Vancouver. Their answer: 27,000 men, or 2.9 per cent of the male population over 16.

BUSINESS

NYC hosting the 24th Original LGBT Expo in September.

Since debuting in 1993, the Original LGBT Expo has become the largest and longest-running LGBT convention in the world. The expo celebrates diversity in business, education, politics, the arts, health, technology, media, travel, and non-profit sectors. This year, PASSPORT Magazine is proud to be an official sponsor of the show. We are excited to be collaborating with an event that loves and supports the LGBT Community just as much as we do!

ENTERTAINMENT

The $400,000 question about LGBT drinking.

The National Institutes of Health is spending over $400,000 studying whether gender norms of masculinity and femininity lead LGBTQ individuals to drink too much. Trying to find the “meanings of intoxication” of sexual and gender minorities is the central question of a study that was awarded in late July.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

No Moscow Pride for the next 100 years.

A Moscow court on Aug. 17 upheld a ban against gay Pride parades for the next century. The ruling from the city court affirms a Moscow law banning public LGBT gatherings from March 2012 until May 2112, according to the BBC’s website. An appeal is expected, first to a higher court in Russia and then possibly to the European Court of Human Rights.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Did you make OUT Magazine’s 10th Annual Power List?

Every year, OUT magazine releases its list of most powerful LGBTQ personalities but this year is special as they celebrate the list’s 10th anniversary. This year, the magazine is profiling some of the most famous gay men and women for their ’10th Annual Power list.’ The magazine also has another list for the power rankings of prominent LGBTQ couples.

HEALTH

Fighting for same-sex spousal benefits in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County resident Judith Dominguez is suing her former employer, Cherry Creek Mortgage, for refusing to provide Dominguez and her wife with spousal health insurance coverage. The lawsuit was filed in federal court on Thursday and accuses Cherry Creek of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, as well as other equal protection laws.