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 Friday, August 22nd. I’m Janice Hughes.
And I’m Sultan Shakir. First up, sad news from Ohio.
LGBT ally and Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones passed away Wednesday after suffering a brain hemorrhage. HRC President Joe Solmonese released a statement yesterday, saying she could always be counted on to speak out for civil rights and was an outspoken advocate for LGBT equality. Congresswoman Tubbs Jones, who was a recipient of the HRC Equality Award, consistently earned a 100 percent rating on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the congresswoman’s family and friends.
Openly gay U.S. Representative Barney Frank is looking into a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation policy that disqualifies domestic partners from receiving coverage available to married couples. Frank is chair of the House Financial Services Committee, which oversees legislation and government regulation of the nation’s banks and other financial institutions. The FDIC is an independent federal agency that protects Americans against the loss of their deposits in banks and savings institutions in the event that a bank fails.
New York State’s Dignity For All Students bill has been recalled by its sponsor and amended in order to address concerns raised by the State Education Department. Democratic Assembly Member Daniel O’Donnell’s anti-bullying legislation has passed the Assembly seven times since 2002 but has been stonewalled in the Senate over the inclusion of sexual identity. A spokesperson for O’Donnell said that if the Senate is serious about protecting the safety of New York’s students, then they will immediately introduce and pass this version of the legislation.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said Wednesday that he would not reissue an executive order that bans discrimination against LGBT people in the workplace. Jindal called the executive order unnecessary According to Randy Evans, co-political director of New Orleans-based Forum for Equality, Jindal’s decision means anyone can be fired based on their sexual orientation, regardless of the quality of their work.
A Presbyterian minister who officiated at a lesbian wedding in 2005 is headed back to church court two years after charges against her were dismissed. Reverend Janet Edwards of Pittsburgh will appear before the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Pittsburgh Presbytery in October to answer charges that she defied her ordination vows by officiating at the wedding. Edwards faces possible expulsion if convicted by the commission.
A Native American tribe in Oregon has decided to legalize marriage for same-sex couples. The Coquille Indian Tribe says that under the federal Indian act it is not bound by Oregon’s 2004 constitutional amendment that denies gay and lesbian couples to wed. Some legal analysts say that the tribe is likely bound by the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal government recognition of marriage for same-sex couples.
That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
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