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, March 3rd. I’m Sarah Birnie.
And I’m Charlie Nordstrom. First up, the latest on the media’s coverage of the Lawrence King murder.
Talk show host Ellen Degeneres spoke out on her show last week, denouncing the murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King, the openly gay student killed in California. She talked passionately about how GLBT people are not second class citizens. To watch the clip of Ellen speaking directly to her studio audience and America, visit the Backstory blog at www.hrcbackstory.org.
Four protestors who disrupted a gay pride festival last June in Elmira, New York have been convicted of disorderly conduct. The judge agreed with prosecutors that the protestors’ actions threatened public order, and that their arrests were not a violation of their freedom of speech. The defense plans to appeal.
Pope Benedict has made remarks praising Americans who oppose marriage equality, in anticipation of his April visit to the United States. He spoke about quote “safeguarding the family” and “the institution of marriage, acknowledged as a stable union between a man and a woman.” During his six day visit, the Pope will meet with President Bush and address the United Nations.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has come under fire for the State Department’s unequal treatment of GLBT staff. Representative Tammy Baldwin, the only out lesbian in Congress, and three other members of Congress wrote a letter to Secretary Rice asking her to change State Department policy to allow same-sex partners of Foreign Service Officers’ to have the same rights and benefits of spouses. Secretary Rice has yet to issue a response.
Accessory to Murder, a documentary about the March 2007 killing of Ryan Keith Skipper, a 25-year-old gay man, will debut tonight at Rollins College in Florida. Proceeds from DVD sales of the documentary will go to an anti-hate-crime educational fund established in Skipper’s name. The two men arrested for the murder face trial later this year.
The first comprehensive report on the educational experiences of GLBT families has been released. One of the report’s major findings is that GLBT parents are more likely to be involved in their children’s education than the general parent population. Unfortunately, the report also shows that GLBT parents and their children are very likely to experience harassment for their family structure.
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.