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 Thursday, February 22nd. I’m Betsy Pursell.
And I’m Tommy Lodge. First up, an update on the presidential campaigns.
Senators Barack Obama and John McCain were the big winners of Tuesday’s primary in Wisconsin and caucuses in Hawaii. On the Republican side, the victories all but ensure that McCain will win his party’s nomination. Obama has now won ten straight triumphs over Senator Hillary Clinton. Obama and Clinton will next battle it out on March 4th in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island and Vermont.
Connecticut state Representative Jason Bartlett told the Danbury News times that he is gay, confirming that he is the nation’s first openly-gay African American state legislator. Bartlett was elected to the Connecticut State House in 2006. New England recently made news for electing the nation’s first openly lesbian African American mayor – Denise Simmons of Cambridge, Massachusetts.
A bill that would have banned elementary and middle schools from teaching anything other than heterosexuality failed in the Tennessee House this week. The proposed policy was widely criticized as unnecessary, a violation of free speech, and an election year stunt. The bill died when a House subcommittee referred it to the Tennessee Department of Education, which has no authority to do anything with the legislation.
California will consider instituting mandatory tolerance trainings in schools following the murder of a 15 year old gay student. Assembly member Mike Eng says he will introduce a bill that would require schools to implement a mandatory tolerance class as part of the curriculum. The legislation also would provide training for teachers to help them identify "symptoms of hate." Lawrence King was shot and killed outside his school in Oxnard, California.
The Presbyterian Church court has ruled against the open service of partnered gay and lesbian clergy. The decision ended a policy that allowed local churches to ordain non-celibate gay and lesbian pastors despite a church-wide ban. The ruling stated that "the church has required those who aspire to ordained office to conform their actions, though not necessarily their beliefs or opinions, to certain standards."
The Human Rights Campaign has partnered with the Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and the Stonewall Democrats to form the Presidential Appointments Project. The project will identify, recruit and vet openly GLBT applicants for thousands of executive branch positions that will be filled with political appointees after the next president is sworn in. The group is a non-partisan effort.
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.