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.
Hello and thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking, your daily does of LGBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Wednesday, October 28th. I’m Sultan Shakir.
And I’m Margot Rosen. To begin, today is the official signing date for the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Hate crimes bill.
The White House announced yesterday that President Obama will hold two ceremonies today related to the 2010 National Defense Authorization Act. The signing will occur in the early afternoon followed by an evening reception to mark the enactment of the Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The evening event will be attended by Attorney General Eric Holder and leaders in the civil rights community.
Bea Arthur, the famous actress who passed away earlier this year, has left some $300,000 to the Ali Forney Center in New York City. The center specializes in housing for homeless LGBT youth. A spokesman for the center, which offers food, emergency housing, medical treatment, and HIV testing, said the organization was overwhelmed by the actress’ gratitude.
Great Britain is considering lifting its lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men. The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs held a public meeting on Tuesday in London to discuss the issue. A similar ban exists in the United States.
In an update on the fight for marriage equality in Maine, the state’s governor is speaking out for the No on 1 campaign. John Baldacci signed equality marriage into law earlier this spring, and reiterated that the state’s law would not force religious organizations to conduct unions it does not fundamentally agree with.
The effort to end the U.S. ban on immigration by those infected with HIV took a step forward yesterday. The proposal rule to end the discriminatory legislation was sent Office of Management and Budget for final review before publication. This is the last step before the regulation becomes final. More information is available at HRCBackstory.org.
After hearing from over 100 people on same-sex marriage recognition on Monday, the District of Columbia council is set to hear from over 150 others on November 2nd. Though opponents of same-sex marriage have called for a public vote on the issue, Committee chairman Phil Mendelson said he believed the council was representative of the District’s residents and that a public vote was not appropriate.
That’s the news from us today, thanks for watching.
We’ll see you back here again tomorrow.