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 GLBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Monday, January 14h. I’m Charlie Nordstrom.
And I’m Sarah Birnie. First up, news from the faith community.
A Pittsburgh church that voted to leave the U.S. Presbyterian Church has filed a lawsuit to protect their property from seizure. The Memorial Park Presbyterian Church members voted to break with the national church and join a more conservative denomination. Memorial Park leaders were concerned about the national denomination's increasingly accepting views on GLBT ordination.
More than 100 same-sex couples have taken advantage of New Hampshire's civil unions law since it went into effect on January 1st. State records show that the vast majority of couples who applied for licenses are from New Hampshire, although they are available to couples from outside the state. Couples entering civil unions will have the same state rights, responsibilities and obligations as married couples, but they still are barred from receiving federal rights.
A conservative Christian group failed to collect enough signatures to force a vote to repeal a California law protecting students from discrimination, harassment and bullying in publicly-funded schools. Save Our Kids, the organization that spearheaded the referendum effort, collected over 350,000 signatures to overturn the law. To succeed, they would have had to collect 434,000 signatures. The safe schools law still faces court challenges.
A Moscow judge on Friday acquitted 13 gay activists arrested last month for staging a protest outside a polling station during national elections. The group was demonstrating against Vladimir Putin's United Russia party and several smaller parties for refusing to advance GLBT rights in Russia. The 13 protestors are now considering a law suit against Moscow police for illegal arrest and detention.
Maryland lawmakers have clarified a law passed last year that requires health insurance companies to write policies inclusive of domestic partners at the request of an employer. To ensure bipartisan support, a definition of domestic partners was struck from the bill. Maryland lawmakers have now decided that any two people over the age of 18 who have been in a committed relationship for at least six months of mutual interdependence qualify as domestic partners.
In other news from Maryland, the GLBT community lost a great ally this weekend. Maryland State Senator Gwendolyn Britt died on Saturday after being admitted to a hospital. She was to have introduced legislation that would legalize same-sex marriage in Maryland during the state’s upcoming legislative session. Senator Britt was 66 years old.
That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
Have a great day and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow morning.