Equally Speaking
The following is a transcript of HRC’s morning news webcast "Equally Speaking." To view the current videos visit the main Equally Speaking page.
Good morning, and thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking, your morning dose of LGBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Tuesday, September 2nd. I’m Shelena Williams.
And I’m David Paul. First up, news from HRC.
Late last week, HRC criticized Senator John McCain’s choice of first term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his Vice Presidential running mate. HRC President Joe Solmonese said “America may not know much about Sarah Palin, but based on what our community has seen of her, we know enough.” Palin supported the 1998 Alaska constitutional amendment banning marriage equality and has expressed support for stripping away domestic partner benefits for state workers.
Senator Barack Obama showed his support for LGBT rights last week during his acceptance speech for the Democratic Presidential nomination. Speaking to a crowd of more than 80,000 people, Obama said “I know there are differences on same-sex marriage, but surely we can agree that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters deserve to visit the person they love in the hospital and to live lives free of discrimination.” Senator Obama supports a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes legislation, the repeal of the military’s "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" policy, and opposes the federal marriage amendment and bans on LGBT adoption rights.
A new survey in Florida found it is too close to tell if a proposed constitutional amendment that would deny marriage rights to same-sex couples is likely to be defeated. The poll shows that 57 percent of likely voters support the amendment while 36 percent said they intend to vote against it. Florida’s constitution requires a 60 percent majority to amend the document.
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that a Minnesota school district must give a LGBT rights group the same access to school facilities as other student groups. Two students sued Maple Grove High School after administrators prohibited the group from raising money, taking field trips and using school-sponsored avenues of communication. The court found that the school district had denied the LGBT student group of certain privileges given to other non-curricular student groups.
A court in Senegal has sentenced a gay couple to two years in prison for marrying in Belgium. The men, who were convicted of “gross indecency and marriage against nature,” were detained after a marriage license was discovered in their luggage. In Senegal, gay and lesbian sex acts are punishable by imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to 3,000 dollars.
Bosnia’s LGBT community has come under fire by Muslim activists after planning its first gay pride festival during the holy month of Ramadan. Pride organizers say they did not intend to offend Muslims, but that the date was set a year ago. Organizers also said that the outcry has more to do with a general intolerance of the LGBT community than the date of the event.
That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
Before we go, HRC would like to send its thoughts and prayers to those affected by Hurricane Gustav. Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow morning.