Equally Speaking
Equally Speaking
Friday, June 8, 2007
First up on HRC's daily webcast, some military news. We’ve reported that Jason Knight was discharged from the Navy after coming out as gay but then was asked to return to service a year later. Knight’s future has been uncertain but now the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is reporting the Knight has been assigned to the Individual Ready Reserves where he could be called back to active duty at any time.
New York’s state Assembly will have an openly bisexual member – a first for the body. Micah Kellner was elected with 64 percent of the vote this week to represent the upper east side of Manhattan. His election was endorsed by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Senator Hillary Clinton.
The former gay Republican congressman from Arizona, Jim Kolbe, was cleared of any wrongdoing in relation to congressional pages, according to the Justice Department. Officials had been investigating Kolbe following the scandal that resulted in Representative Mark Foley’s resignation last year.
Faculty at the University of Wisconsin are vowing to continue their fight for domestic partner benefits despite a decision this week by a legislative committee to deny the benefits. The group says equal benefits are critical in order for the state university system to attract and retain the best talent.
In international news, Israel’s Parliament passed two bills this week that could severely curtail the ability of GLBT groups to hold events in the country. One bill would allow local Jerusalem officials to ban events that offend public sensitivities while another would ban any GLBT public events in the country outright.
Finally, a program started last year at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center to equip GLBT youth with high school diplomas has its first graduates. GLBT young people often face hostility in school and drop out rather than be subjected to constant harassment.