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 Thursday, October 9th. I’m Tommy Lodge.
And I’m Breanna Bianco. First up, news from HRC.
Yesterday, HRC launched a free tool for members and supporters to send friends and family members a text message on Election Day reminding them to vote. The tool, created by CREDO Mobile, allows members and supporters to simply enter their friends’ mobile phone numbers and select from a handful of pre-written messages. Reminders will be sent out automatically on November 3rd. To set up text reminders, visit TXTOutTheVote.com/P/HRC.
A new study out of California shows that if Proposition 8 is defeated, Sonoma County could see hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in personal, business and government revenue over the next three years. The report, conducted by Sonoma State University's Center for Regional Economic Analysis, shows that many of the jobs that will be created due to marriage equality could attract unemployed residents. Currently, opponents of the discriminatory ballot measure are falling behind in fundraising efforts.
More than 150 lawyers from across Florida signed a letter against Amendment 2, a ballot measure that would ban marriages, civil unions, and domestic partnership benefits for gay and lesbian couples. Among the lawyers who signed the letter are former Florida House speakers Peter Wallace and Richard Pettigrew, and Talbot D'Alemberte, former president of the American Bar Association and Florida State University. The letter was released yesterday by Florida Red & Blue, a bipartisan campaign fighting the ballot measure.
In other Florida news, the city of Orlando voted to grant health benefits to the same-sex partners of municipal workers. The measure, proposed by Mayor Buddy Dyer, was unanimously accepted by city council earlier this week. The decision makes Orlando the first local government in Central Florida to provide the benefits, although more than 20 other cities in the state already provide similar benefits.
The Advertising Council announced it will introduce ads aiming to discourage bullying and harassment of LGBT teenagers. The ad campaign, created on behalf of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, urges viewers to stop saying something is quote “so gay” to signify it is negative or unpleasant. The ads will feature celebrities such as actress Hilary Duff and comedian Wanda Sykes.
A Church of England priest has issued a public apology for writing in his blog that gays should be forcibly tattooed with a sodomy warning. Reverend Peter Mullen, who also criticized another priest for blessing the civil partnership of two fellow clerics, came under fire when he made the comments earlier this week. The blog postings were removed following a meeting with church officials.
That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow morning.