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 Monday, August 25th. I’m Candace Gingrich.
And I’m Sarah Birnie. First up, news from HRC.
This weekend, HRC hailed Senator Barack Obama’s selection of Senator Joe Biden as his Vice Presidential running mate. HRC President Joe Solmonese praised Senator Biden as a proven and effective advocate for fairness and equality. Most recently, Senator Biden played an instrumental role in repealing the discriminatory HIV travel and immigration ban.
Today, HRC will broadcast its weekly talk show, “The Agenda with Joe Solmonese,” live from the Democratic National Convention. HRC President Joe Solmonese and co-host Mary Breslauer will welcome Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, Congresswoman Diana DeGette, Huffington Post political editor Hilary Rosen, and a number of LGBT delegates to the convention. To listen live, tune into XM Channel 155 at 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
HRC will host the DNCC-sponsored event “Rock to Win” tomorrow night at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver. The event will feature performances by Melissa Etheridge, Margaret Cho, Cyndi Lauper, Rufus Wainwright and Thelma Houston. "Rock to Win" is an opportunity to educate delegates, convention attendees and the Denver community about the issues facing the LGBT community. For more information on the event, visit HRC.org/rocktowin.
A poll released late last week found that six in 10 voters would support an openly gay candidate for president of the United States. The poll asked more than 1,000 likely voters if they would support an openly gay president, U.S. senator, vice president or cabinet-level secretary if they believed the individual was the most qualified person for the job. Sixty-five percent of the respondents said they would support an openly gay presidential candidate while 71 percent said they would support the appointment of an openly gay cabinet-level secretary.
An Arkansas group backing a proposed gay adoption ban says it has enough signatures to get it on the November ballot. Last week, a spokesperson for Arkansas Families First said they are prepared to petition the Arkansas Supreme Court before the proposed ban gets to the ballot. The proposed act would prevent adoptive or foster care children from being placed in homes of unmarried partners.
School records that could shed light on the behavior of slain 15-year-old Lawrence King were turned over last week to an attorney representing the teen's alleged killer. The attorney subpoenaed the records to help him prepare his legal defense for Brandon McInerney, who is being prosecuted as an adult in Ventura County Superior Court in California. The records are expected to disclose information on King's behavior during the time he was living at a center for troubled and abused children.
That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
Thanks for watching, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow morning.