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 LGBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Monday, September 22nd. I’m Shelena Williams.
And I’m Rachel Balick. First up, news out of Chicago.
A group of over 200 people met last week to discuss a proposal to open the city’s first high school for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The Social Justice High School Pride Campus would focus on core college-preparatory curriculum but cater to LGBT youth in the Chicago public school district. Critics fear that the school would allow district administrators to neglect the responsibility to make all schools safe for LGBT students. If the plan is approved, the school is not expected to open until 2012.
On to news from Brazil, where popular president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is calling on country lawmakers to legalize same-sex unions. The president, who’s known for his equal rights agenda, says it’s time to pass same-sex union legislation that has been stalled in Congress for over a decade. Same-sex unions were first legalized in the Brazilian state of Buenos Aires in 2002 and then two years later in Rio Grande do Sul, another Brazilian state.
Across the Atlantic now, where a gay Ugandan man seeking asylum has been deported from England. The man, John Bosco Nyombi, had been living and working in the UK since 2002 and says he fled Uganda because he feared persecution based on his sexuality if he were to return to his home country. LGBT people there can face life imprisonment if caught by police. Many gay asylum seekers have been deported from the UK on the premise that they can continue to pursue their sexuality in the native land if they act "discreetly."
Police officers in Atlanta are undergoing a refresher course in respectful and appropriate terminology when it comes to dealing with LGBT youth. Despite a language training course officers receive at police academy, Atlanta Police Department’s LGBT liaison Officer D. Harris said the course is necessary because inappropriate language was used in a September 5th police report. The report, which dealt with several prostitution arrests, was a reminder to Harris that many people still need to be educated about more modern, less offensive language in reference to the LGBT community. She also said she applauds the city police for working hard to stamp out gay and transgender prostitution in the city.
A council of Episcopal bishops voted to oust Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh for his anti-equality sentiment and his desire to break away from the national church. Duncan is part of a contingent of conservative theologians who have voiced concern over the church’s first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who was elected to his post in 2003. The Pittsburgh diocese says that it will still go ahead with a vote on seceding from the national church on October 4th, despite Duncan’s ouster.
Officials in Dane County, Wisconsin have voted to require companies working for the county on contracts of 5,000 dollars or more to offer health benefits to their employee’s domestic partners. Dane County employees already receive domestic partner benefits. The measure also establishes a registry for same-sex and other non-married domestic partners and will go into effect on December 1st.
That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
Thanks for watching, have a great day.