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, December 5th. I’m David Paul.
And I’m Shelena Williams. We’ll start with a proposal to add sexual orientation and gender to Oklahoma’s hate crimes law.
State Representative Al McAffrey, the only gay member of the Oklahoma Legislature, has proposed legislation to add sexual orientation and gender to the state’s hate crimes law. Oklahoma is one of only 17 states that does not include sexual orientation in its hate crimes legislation.
In Connecticut, the number of same-sex couples entering into civil unions has decreased by more than 50 percent. Some GLBT activists attribute this decline to a concern that civil unions fail to offer all of the protections of marriage. Many couples are currently following a case challenging the state’s limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples.
A coalition of conservative groups in Pennsylvania has renewed its call for a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions. The organizations say the state’s Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, does not go far enough.
Logo has announced that it will be adding a gay basketball reality series to its summer lineup. The show will follow the lives of the San Francisco Rock Dogs, a 12-member gay basketball team that earned the gold medal at last year’s Gay Games in Chicago.
Nepal’s largest GLBT rights organization has threatened to launch protests across the country if the government does not stop harassing GLBT citizens. Members of Nepal’s GLBT community are arbitrarily arrested, held without a hearing, and beaten and tortured by prison guards.
A transgender woman is among the field of candidates seeking to succeed a Maryland state lawmaker who died last week. Dana Beyer, who failed in her bid last year to become a state delegate, could become the nation’s first transgender state legislator if selected to fill the vacant Montgomery County seat.
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.