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 daily dose of LGBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Wednesday, November 4th. I'm Sultan Shakir.
And I'm Brea Bianco. Our news today focuses on the results from last night’s elections across the country.
Families in Maine faced a heart-breaking defeat as the Yes on One campaign prevailed in denying equal marriage. With nearly 90 percent of the returns in, the Yes side -- funded by the National Organization for Marriage and Catholic church -- leads 52 to 48 percent. We applaud the hard work of the thousands of Mainers who told their stories and we commit to continuing the work to protect all families.
In Washington state, initial returns suggest that Referendum 71 will be approved. The measure asked voters to approve or reject a new expansion of rights for domestic partners. After final certification in a few days, same sex couples in the state will be able to enjoy the same legal rights and protections as opposite-sex couples.
A big victory occurred in Kalamazoo, Mich., where voters chose to protect the rights of LGBT citizens by upholding a law prohibiting discrimination in employment, housing, or public accommodations. Despite lies and distortions from our opponents, the One Kalamazoo campaign prevailed in upholding the inclusive law.
To the Gubernatorial races in Virginia, anti-equality candidate Robert McDonnell defeated Democrat Creigh Deeds in the state's gubernatorial race. And in New Jersey, long-time supporter of equality John Corzine was unfortunately defeated by Republican Chris Cristie.
In New York’s contested 23rd Congressional district, Bill Owens has become the first Democrat since 1890 to hold the seat after defeating extremist anti-LGBT candidate Bill Hoffman. HRC had endorsed marriage equality proponent Dede Scozzafava in the race but after she dropped out and endorsed Owens, HRC encouraged our members to do the same.
That's the all the news from us today, thanks for watching.
We hope you have a great day and we'll see you back here again tomorrow.