Brian Dixon

The Other Side of the Rainbow: Young, Gay and Homeless in Metro Atlanta

["The Other Side of the Rainbow: Young, Gay and Homeless in Metro Atlanta" is part 1 of a 3 part series on LGBT issues. Bookmark this page for updates.]

In April 2008, Brian Dixon was 18-years-old and homeless. Being gay, he says, only exacerbated his predicament. After allegedly enduring years of mental and physical abuse, at age 14 Dixon left home to live with his grandparents. Within a year, they placed him in Georgia’s foster care system.

Two Teens Charged With Hate Crimes in McDonald’s Transgender Beating

A Maryland grand jury has handed down hate-crime charges in the beating of a transgender woman at a McDonald’s outside Baltimore. The April 24 incident has gotten national attention, in part because an employee shot a video of the incident and posted it online. From the Associated Press: 

Teonna Brown, 18, was indicted Monday on assault and hate crime charges in the attack on Chrissy Lee Polis at the restaurant last month. She is also charged with assaulting a customer and a McDonald’s employee who tried to intervene. A 14-year-old girl is facing the same charges in juvenile court.