Equally Speaking
Good morning and thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking, your morning dose of LGBT news from the Human Rights Campaign for Friday, August 15th. I’m Cuc Vu.
And I’m Tommy Lodge. First up, news from the campaign trail.
U.S. presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain will target religious voters tomorrow during a debate at a prominent Evangelical church in California. The forum is expected to cover a wide array of topics, including AIDS and LGBT rights. A survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that 61 percent of white evangelical Protestants supported McCain while only 25 percent backed Obama. Other polls this year have shown growing support for the Democratic Party among white evangelical voters.
Yesterday, a small group of demonstrators handed out leaflets in front of California high school in support of Proposition 8, a proposed amendment that would ban marriage for same-sex couples. The protesters decided to protest after the California Teachers Association donated 250,000 dollars to defeat the proposition. The school’s principal stated she was unsure why the group chose her school to picket, since the school is not affiliated with the CTA.
The nation’s only 24-hour crisis and suicide prevention helpline for LGBT youth is launching its first social marketing campaign to increase awareness of LGBT teen suicide. The campaign for the Trevor Helpline will coincide with National Suicide Prevention Week from September 7th to the 13th. The organization was founded by three filmmakers whose film about a gay teenager who attempts suicide received the 1994 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
Travel company Olivia Cruises has begun taking deposits on the world's first lesbian housing development. Olivia Communities will be a resort-style living community targeted toward lesbians in Tucson, Arizona, and construction is set to begin once the company receives 400 deposits. The company plans to create a social atmosphere for the community by scheduling live entertainment and trips to nearby Las Vegas.
A Phoenix, Arizona, couple who vacationed in Ecuador last month is warning tourists of the unfriendly anti-LGBT climate of the South American country. Jeff Sunner says a violent gang of men attacked and choked him, nearly killing him, as a security guard stood feet away laughing. Police refused to file a report of the attack. Ecuadorian activists say that attacks on LGBT people still occur despite the country’s anti-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation.
Television series America's Next Top Model will feature its first transgender contestant, a twenty-two-year-old woman named Isis from Prince George’s County, Maryland. Isis says she is excited for the opportunity to raise the profile of transgender people in the media and also follow her dreams. “I Want To Work For Diddy”, a new reality show by hip hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, will feature a transgender woman and an openly gay man as contestants vying to become Diddy’s personal assistant.
That’s the news from us today. Thanks for tuning in to Equally Speaking.
We’ll be showcasing HRC’s great line of clothing every Friday here on Equally Speaking. Every purchase you make at HRC.org/shop goes toward the important work of the Human Rights Campaign. Thanks for watching, have a good weekend.