Equally Speaking
Equally Speaking
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
We’ll start out today's edition of HRC's daily newscast with a roundup of some state news.
New Jersey has had civil unions available for several months and a commission set up with the passage of the law is reviewing its effectiveness. The Civil Unions Review Commission met for the first time this week and will begin hearing testimony whether or not the system works. Garden State Equality says they have over 150 complains from residents that companies are not abiding by the law.
Eureka Springs, Arkansas, passed a domestic partnership registry last month but opponents are working hard to block it from becoming law. They collected just over the 144 signatures needed to put the question on the ballot in August. The registry grants no legal recognition but opponents say they are against anything that could undermine a state constitutional amendment banning marriage and other rights for same-sex couples.
The University of Kentucky is changing the benefits offered to employees after the state’s attorney general said offering domestic partner benefits violated an anti-marriage amendment there. University officials have broadened the definition of who may be covered in order to pass legal muster.
CareerBuilder.com has released a new report gauging workplace discrimination against diverse employees. Among the groups studied – including gays and lesbians – they found that one in five diverse workers have experienced discrimination or unfair treatment at work. More information at www.careerbuilder.com.
Radio host Michael Savage is coming under fire for comments he made after fair-minded legislators in Massachusetts refused to put marriage rights up to a public vote. He said legislators were beholden to the “gay mafia,” and that their votes were bought “like cheap tricks at a gay bathhouse.”