Equally Speaking
We’ll start out today’s edition of HRC’s daily webcast on Capitol Hill. A House subcommittee held hearings yesterday on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act — a bill to outlaw anti-GLBT workplace discrimination. Members of Congress, business leaders and real people all shared why it’s time to update our laws and allow every American the opportunity to work. You can read accounts of the testimony on HRC’s blog at www.hrcbackstory.org.
In state news, yesterday the AP reported that Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel rejected a proposal by the anti-gay Arkansas Family Council to prevent unmarried couples from adopting children. However, the group may redraft the proposal, and if it is approved, and they collect over 60,000 valid signatures by next July, the proposal could still be placed on the November 2008 ballot.
Senator Larry Craig isn’t leaving as easily as we thought. The Idaho Republican who pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in an airport restroom says his lawyers are trying to reverse his plea and are also trying to thwart an Ethics Committee inquiry. A spokesman for Craig says there is still a chance that he won’t resign if the matter is resolved.
GLBT activists in Moscow were disappointed with a ruling this week following this summer’s banned pride celebration. The court said the city was within its rights to ban the event even though the activists argued it infringed on their right to assembly. They say they will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
Cheryl Spector, a longtime activist in the Washington, D.C., community, passed away this week after a battle with leukemia. HRC President Joe Solmonese called her an extraordinary hero whose death is a great loss for us all.
Finally, we reported yesterday on the use of an anti-gay slur by Jerry Lewis during his Labor Day telethon. After numerous calls for an apology, Lewis did in fact say he was sorry and that the word was inappropriate.