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, July 23rd. I’m Shelena Williams
And I’m Brad Mayer. First up, news from Congress.
Congress is scheduled to hold a hearing on the repeal of the military’s discriminatory “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy today at 2 p.m. The Military Personnel Subcommittee of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee will hear testimony from military experts, including openly gay former Marine Staff Sergeant and HRC spokesperson Eric F. Alva. To read live coverage of the hearing, go to http://www.hrcbackstory.org.
A new poll by Harris Interactive shows Senator Barack Obama leading Senator John McCain by 46 points among GLBT voters. The poll also shows that 17 percent of all GLBT voters are still undecided on which candidate to support. The results of the poll were compiled from 2,690 U.S. adults surveyed online.
Researchers in Pakistan are reporting this week that the country’s taboos about sex have made it difficult to address the AIDS epidemic, where seven times as many men as women are infected with HIV. The findings also show that similarly conservative cultures in India and Bangladesh have addressed the issue more openly. According to the researchers, Islamic law forbids sex outside marriage and many Pakistanis believe the disease is not a threat in Muslim countries.
Sudan's Anglican Church leader is calling for the resignation of openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson, saying it will save Anglicanism from schism. The call comes out of controversy that has surrounded the Lambeth Conference of Anglican leaders in England, where a quarter of the world’s Anglican bishops have boycotted the event over opposition to Robinson. Robinson had not been invited by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, but traveled to the cathedral city anyway to meet with supporters.
Lawyers for two students of a San Diego, California, school have asked an appeals court to uphold a 2005 ruling that found the Poway Unified School District responsible for not protecting its GLBT students. The school district has appealed the case, which awarded the students a sum of three hundred thousand dollars for enduring harassment that was ignored by school officials. In oral arguments yesterday, Lambda Legal says the jury verdict should be upheld to send a strong message of intolerance of anti-GLBT harassment to other school districts.
A court in Athens, Greece, has dismissed a request by three residents of the island Lesbos to ban the use of the word “lesbian” in reference to gay women. Lesbos is the birthplace of the ancient Greek goddess Sappho, whose love poems inspired the term. Other Lesbian residents argued during the hearing that the word has brought increased tourism to the island.
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.