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 Friday, February 1. I'm John Greene.
And I'm Heidi Williams. First up, news from Kentucky.
The Kentucky state senate has passed a bill banning public universities and state agencies from providing domestic partner benefits. University presidents oppose the bill, saying it hurts their ability to recruit top researchers and professors. A similar bill passed the senate last year, but did not make it past the House Health and Welfare Committee.
The city of San Francisco has received a $300,000 grant to assist transgender people in finding work. The money will be used to help transgender people develop interviewing, networking and resume writing skills. Transgender people often face high rates of discrimination, unemployment and under-employment, and poverty.
In Oregon, hundreds of same-sex couples gathered to protest a court-ordered delay in the state's domestic partnership law. The law was to have gone into effect January 1st, but a federal judge placed a hold on it. A hearing on the constitutionality of the law is scheduled to take place today.
A memorial to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Nazi victims is under construction in Berlin, Germany. The memorial will be located in Berlin's Tiergarten Park, across from the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. The memorial is expected to cost $890,000.
Sperm cells could be created by women...It's true, researchers at the University of Newcastle in the U.K. have created primitive sperm cells using female embryonic stem cells. This breakthrough could eventually lead to same-sex couples having children with both parents' genes.
More than 300 Pennsylvania students have signed a petition asking local school system officials to take a closer look at how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students are treated. The petition began after an openly gay student left school after repeated harassment. According to Common Roads, a non-profit support group, 30 percent of GLBT students report some type of regular harassment at school.
That's the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
Have a great weekend, and we'll see you back here again Monday morning.