With the start of a new legislative session in Maryland right around the corner, this report from Sharon Brackett, Board Chair for Gender Rights Maryland, is welcome news indeed.

The Council of Howard County, Maryland passed legislation last night that prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression in the areas of housing, law enforcement, public accommodations, financing, employment, and health and social services.

Governor Deval Patrick signed into law today An Act Relative To Gender Identity, “historic legislation to legally protect transgender individuals from discrimination in housing, education, employment and credit. The new law, signed at the State House today, also provides additional civil rights and protections from hate crimes.”

U.S. Senator Scott Brown (R-MA) has been dodging questions about his stance on the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA, S811). ENDA would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. He also mistakenly thinks Massachusetts already took care of this.

What matters to young women? Are we feminists? What do we care about? How are these things different in different areas of the country? These are the issues addressed by 26-year-old Nona Willis Aronowitz and her childhood friend, Emma Bee Bernstein in their new paperback Girldrive. The two authors drove across the country and interviewed 200 young women, along with some of the mothers of their interviewees, and the mothers of Second and Third Wave Feminism.

Wow. Wow. Prodigal Sons is a stunning, jaw dropping look at family, adoption, severe trauma, sexual orientation, gender and ultimately what is and how we define our identity. Using her gifts as a filmmaker Kimberley Reed gives us an intimate, evolving story about the nature of identity and the meaning of family.

Can you help New Hampshire enact marriage equality and gender identity protections today? Do you know any family or friends in New Hampshire? Potential allies in the state Senate say they are not hearing from marriage equality advocates. Please email or call your New Hampshire network today!