Equally Speaking
Equally Speaking
Thursday, June 14, 2007
First up on HRC's daily webcast, today’s a big day in Massachusetts. Today the Massachusetts Legislature will meet in Constitutional Convention to take up an amendment that would end marriage equality in the Bay State. More than 8,000 same-sex couples in the commonwealth now have the same rights as every other married couple but today’s vote could undo that. We’ll give you an update tomorrow.
The Arkansas Family Council announced this week that they are going to try to put a measure on the ballot to ban GLBT people from giving homes to needy children. They’ll need about 78,000 signatures to get the issue on the ballot in 2008. A similar ban was defeated in the Legislature earlier this year.
A new study shows that GLBT people are likely to be victims of hate violence as much as other targeted groups. The Williams Institute report says that on average 13 out of 100,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual people report hate violence every year. The 13 compares to 8 for African-Americans, 12 for Muslim-Americans and 15 for Jewish-Americans.
HRC kicked off our tour to oppose the military’s ban on gay and lesbian service members that weakens our national security in the name of prejudice. The Legacy of Service tour started out in Des Moines, Iowa, and will continue around the country through the summer. Visit www.hrc.org/legacyofservice for more information.
Two women who were affectionate on a bus in Portland, Oregon, may file a complaint against the city after they were kicked off for kissing. The teenage lesbians were on their way to a Sexual Minority Youth Recreation Center when a fellow passenger complained and the driver told them to get off the bus, calling them "sickos."
A group trying to stop homophobic lyrics in reggae music says they have reached an important deal in the three-year-long campaign. Stop Murder Music says they have signed an agreement with three of the biggest reggae artists denouncing homophobia and violence against GLBT people.