A member of the Suginami Municipal Assembly in Tokyo is drawing flak from the LGBT community for saying gay, lesbian and bisexual people refer to themselves so out of “personal taste” and thus are not worthy of support by municipal governments.
Suginami Ward Assemblywoman Yumi Kobayashi, 27, said during an assembly session Feb. 15 that such sexual minorities are "fundamentally different" from transgender people, "who are clearly disabled and should be legally protected."
“‘Lesbian,’ ‘gay’ and ‘bisexual’ are terms denoting sexual orientation, and it’s not medically clear whether they are disabled or not,” Kobayashi said. “Is it really necessary for local governments to spend a lot of time and money on issues relating to sexual orientation — or personal taste?”