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 Wednesday, June 11. I’m Candace Gingrich.
And I’m Bradley Mayer. First up, news from the Human Rights Campaign:
HRC, along with four other leading national GLBT advocacy groups and GLBT legal organizations, issued a joint statement yesterday to couples planning to wed in California that they should not use their marriages to fight for recognition in federal court. In the statement entitled “Make Change, Not Lawsuits,” the organizations warn couples that ill-timed lawsuits will likely set back the fight for marriage equality.
A federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by 12 gay and lesbian veterans who had challenged the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The veterans argued in their lawsuit that the military policy violates their Constitutional rights to free speech, privacy, and equal protection.1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Jeffrey Howard said the court must defer the case to congressional decision making.
Oklahoma governor Brad Henry vetoed controversial legislation which would have permitted more unfettered religious expression in schools. The Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act, cosponsored by state senators Sally Kern and James Williamson, stated that students have the right to express their religious beliefs in scholastic assignments without being penalized. Governor Henry vetoed the bill due to vague language that could have resulted in unintended consequences.
Earlier this week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders that people newly-infected with HIV are outpacing the number of those beginning antiretroviral drug treatments. Opening the U.N. debates on AIDS prevention, he stressed the need to make bigger strides in prevention work in order to slow down the widening gap. According to the UN an estimated 2.1 million people died of AIDS last year and at least 33 million people are infected with HIV worldwide.
Prosecutors are charging a 14 year old as an adult for the shooting of an openly gay classmate. Brandon McInerney is being charged with premeditated murder and a hate crime for the February 12th murder of eighth-grader Larry King. If convicted as an adult, McInerney faces up to life in prison. His public defender plans to file a motion to have the case transferred to juvenile court, where McInerney could be released at the age of 21.
A Presbyterian church court dropped three of five charges against Reverend Janet Edwards, who performed a marriage ceremony for a lesbian couple in 2005. Reverend Edwards, who serves at the GLBT-friendly Community of Reconciliation in Oakland, California, maintains that the ceremony was in line with clergy policies. Her trial will move forward in October.
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.