News You (might be able to) Use (9/14/2011)

Is it just me, or is the rate of violence against trans-people on the rise?   I sincerely hope not, but it sure looks like it.  Diana, over at her little Corner of the Nutmeg State, reports that "Washington DC is becoming a place of death for us," and tells us about the third group of assaults on transwomen this summer in that city.

Meanwhile, the most high-profile case has been resolved.  Sort of:  the teen who pleased guilty to beating a transwoman in a Rosedale, MD McDonalds was sentenced to five years in prison, plus three of supervised probation.  The maximum sentence for such a crime is 35 years, but the 19-year-old woman had no previous record, and tearfully apologized in court.