Transparent, the Amazon series that follows the various members of the Pfefferman family as they come to terms with their patriarch, Mort’s (Jeffrey Tambor) transition, won the Golden Globe for Best TV Series, Comedy. Joined on stage by the cast, creator Jilly Soloway dedicated the award to “the memory of Leelah Alcorn and too many trans people who die too young.”

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP…(the audio may need to be turned up)

The Russian government continues its steady persecution of LGBT citizens as Russian transgender people no longer qualify for driver’s licenses in the country under a new set of revisions to medical controls for drivers, reports BBC News.

The Russian government says the new rules are to help cut down on the number of car accidents. Although most of the provisions refer to physical impairments, such as blindness, “gender identity disorders” including transsexualism and dual-role transvestism are referenced in the revised provisions. Sadomasochism and exhibitionism are included as well according to BuzzFeed’s J. Lester Feder and Susie Armitage.

Human rights activists and organizations, including the Association of Russian Lawyers for Human Rights, are justly outraged, calling the new law “discriminatory.” The Association of Russian Lawyers is demanding clarifications from the Russian Constitutional Court and seeking support from international human rights organizations in the process. Shawn Gaylord of Human Rights First calls the banning of people driving based on gender identity ridiculous.

Said Gaylord:

“Beyond the denial of basic freedoms, this provision may deter transgender people from seeking mental health services for fear of receiving a diagnosis that would strip them of their right to drive, and leaves the door open for increased harassment, persecution, and discrimination of transgender people by Russian authorities.

“We urge the United States to immediately condemn this provision and to press the Russian government to repeal this decision.”

Russian psychiatric experts Mikhail Strakhov and Valery Evtushenko of the Russian Psychiatric Association also condemned the regulations. However, the Professional Drivers Union supported the move, including union head Alexander Kotov. “We have too many deaths on the road, and I believe toughening medical requirements for applicants is fully justified,” said Kotov.

The driving regulations is just one more contribution to creating a hostile, oppressive environment for LGBT Russians and it’s clearly working. Since Russia passed it’s anti-gay “propaganda,” law in June 2013, hate crimes against LGBT people in Russia have dramatically increased. 

17-year-old Leelah Alcorn’s tragic suicide was a talking point on recent episodes of both The View and The Talk.

Leelah, you’ll recall, stepped in front of a tractor-trailer late December after being subjected to months of abuse and isolation at the hands of her parents after she came out to them as transgender.

Choking up on The View Thursday, guest co-host Laverne Cox recounted her own struggles growing up, including a suicide attempt at age 11. 

Said Cox:

I did an ‘It Gets Better’ video, but I was also very critical of it. It got better for me when I learned how to reach out and get support, when I really did the work to truly love myself. And that’s a lot of work, but you can’t do it alone. And I don’t want to demonize her parents, her parents must be going through the worst thing any parent would go through. But I think what they did by isolating her and not supporting her, she didn’t feel like she could reach out for support, I think that’s the worst thing you can do.

The ladies of The Talk were also critical of the way Leelah’s parents handled things, with Aisha Tyler saying:

Every parent of a transgender child should understand that this is not a phase, that it’s not a fashion trend. When your child comes to you and says “I feel like I’m a girl in a boy’s body” you have to listen to your child and love them. They need your support. They don’t need you to tell them that they’re a bad person or that the devil is in them. 

Sarah Gilbert teared up saying “I just think it’s more important to let go of the idea that you have a son then to lose your child” while Sheryl Underwood spoke at length about Leelah’s “Christian bully” parents:

That is not what Christianity is all about. You’re going to drive people away from what Christian love is truly all about. And I’d like to see this family, especially this mother, instead of trying to defend something that is definitely wrong to almost every mother in this room, get on your knees and ask your child and ask the Lord to forgive you for anything you did to hurt your child. 

Watch the segments, AFTER THE JUMP…