Equally Speaking
Mike Huckabee's AIDS statement, councilmember resigns over homophobic and rascist joke, and more.
Good morning and thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking, your morning dose of GLBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Wednesday, December 12th. I’m David Paul.
And I’m Shelena Williams. We’ll start with a development on presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s controversial statements on AIDS.
Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has agreed to meet with the mother of Ryan White over a 15-year-old remark he made about quarantining AIDS patients. Jeanne White-Ginder, whose son lost his battle with AIDS in the 1980s, asked for a meeting after Huckabee’s comments resurfaced in the media.
Huckabee’s comments have also alarmed members of his own party. This week, the Log Cabin Republicans released a statement criticizing the former Arkansas governor for his remarks. They also said his recent explanation of those comments lacked credibility and that he should admit he was wrong.
Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani has said that being gay is not a sin, but that "it’s the various acts that people perform that are sinful." While serving as mayor of New York, Giuliani signed domestic partner legislation into law. He is generally considered a social moderate on GLBT issues.
In Colorado, Dacona city councilmember Sandra Tucker has resigned over a homophobic and racist joke she posted on a community Web site. Mayor Wade Carlson asked Tucker to remove the posting. She refused to do so and resigned in protest.
A judge will decide whether to grant summary judgment in a lawsuit over state funding for a private university that expelled a student for being gay. A GLBT rights group filed suit to block an $11 million state appropriation to the University of the Cumberlands, a Southern Baptist school in Williamsburg.
Police in Hamilton, Canada are looking for three suspects following two assaults that officers say were motivated by hate. One attack involved a 23-year-old man walking with three female friends who was attacked by three men shouting anti-gay slurs. Officers say the same suspects assaulted a second man within an hour.
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.