Thank god this case is gaining traction. After that ludicrous Time magazine article, "Gays in the Military: Does a Sailor's Murder Signal Deeper Problems?, that blamed the victim by saying Provost's murder is a sign that the military "isn't ready" for repeal of DADT, House member Sheila Jackson-Lee wants to get to the bottom of what may be a hate crime based on Provost's sexual orientation. (Rod 2.0):The announcement by Jackson-Lee -- who has a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign -- comes at the same time other members of the Congress are pressing for action. Sources tell Rod 2.0 the Congressional Black Caucus, NAACP, and the Black Leadership Forum are making a joint statement demanding a full investigation by the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy. Rep. Bob Filner (D) of suburban San Diego, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, says his panel will investigate, too. Filner wants also wants DoD and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of the sailor was a hate crime.
Your help is needed now to pass transgender non-discrimination legislation in Massachusetts. &nbmp;nbsp;Our friends at GLAD explain how you can help.Next Tuesday, July 14, "An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes" (H. 1728/S. 1687) will be heard by the Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary.
This bill will explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.
Please join us at the State House next Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. as we stand together with parents, employees, victims of violence and allies in the passing of this bill and the right for all Massachusetts citizens to work, go to school and live without fear. If you have not already done so, contact your legislators today and share your own story about why you support this bill.
A large show of support at the hearing on Tuesday will demonstrate to legislators that Massachusetts is ready to join the twelve other U.S. states, including Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont, that protect all citizens equally under the law.
This is why we need all hands on deck to support the bill. The hate brigade is not going to play nice. They never have, they never will.
This is it: Hearing on HB 1728 next Tuesday
Weeks and months of lobbying, strategy and grassroots action have led up to the hearing next Tuesday before the Joint Committee on the Judiciary. The "bathroom bill" fight has been played out on the airwaves and in the halls of the Statehouse. Passage of HB 1728 is the top priority of the radical homosexual lobby in this state, and they have poured their resources into lobbyists and phone banks.
With 104 legislators having signed on as co-sponsors of the "bathroom bill," killing this dangerous legislation in committee is critical. Efforts were successful last year due to a huge grassroots uprising spurned on by MFI and our coalition partners, emailing, calling and writing to the Judiciary Committee members.
That may not be enough this year. We need you at the hearing in Boston next Tuesday, July 14. Our opponents will turn out in large numbers as they always do, but we must be there in equal numbers. The hearing begins at 1:00 pm in the Gardner Auditorium. If you want to testify, it is strongly recommended that you get there early to get your name on the list, as this is how they will call people.
Please RSVP to attend either by replying to this email or sending an email to xxxx@haters.org. This is a fight that we can win, but not without your help. If you are able to help keep our hard-hitting radio ads on the air, please CLICK HERE to donate today.
As always, pleas, please visit www.nobathroombill.com for more information and to send emails to the members of the Judiciary Committee.
It's good to see action on this. It was a long, brutal, but successful battle to get anti-bullying legislation passed in North Carolina; creating safe spaces to learn in school should not be a political football.
No one knows this more than Sirdeaner Walker, who is in the public eye for the most horrific reasons -- losing a child to suicide after bullying in school was badly handled by school administrators. Eleven-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover's precious life ended with an electrical cord tied to his neck, his body swinging from a support beam in the stairwell of his home, with Mrs. Walker discovering his lifeless body.
Sirdeaner Walker has taken action in her grief -- she testified before House Subcommittees in favor of a federal Safe Schools Improvement Act. (GLSEN):
More below the fold.Carl, who attended New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, Mass., took his own life April 6 after enduring constant bullying at school, including being called "gay" and "faggot" even though he did not identify as gay.
"Carl liked football and basketball and playing video games with his little brother," Walker testified. "He loved the Lord and he loved his family. What could make a child his age despair so much that he would take his own life? That question haunts me to this day, and I will probably never know the answer.
"School bullying is a national crisis, and we need a national solution to deal with it. That is why I am here today. Teachers, administrators and other school personnel need additional support and clear guidance about how to ensure that all kids feel safe in school. Congress can make sure they have that guidance and support by making anti-bullying policies mandatory in all of our nation's schools."
The Safe Schools Improvement Act wo Act would require schools that receive Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act funding to implement a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that enumerates categories often targeted by bullies, including race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and others. It also requires states to include bullying and harassment data in their state-wide needs assessments reporting.
The bill is sponsored by Calif. Rep. Linda S?nchez, who is joined by lead cosponsors Fla. Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and N.Y. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy among the 60 bipartisan cosponsors.
"Students cannot learn and teachers cannot teach in environments that aren't safe," Rep. McCarthy said at the hearing. "Schools should be sanctuaries for our children to learn and get the tools they need to succeed in life, not places where children have to worry about physical or emotional violence."
Nearly two-thirds of middle and high school students (65%) said they had been bullied in school in the past year, according to From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, a 2005 report from GLSEN and Harris Interactive based on survey results from 3,450 secondary school students from across the United States.The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund submitted testimony in favor of the legislation. Executive Director Rea Carey:"GLSEN thanks the subcommittees for taking the time to listen to an esteemed panel of students, parents and youth advocates who are leading the effort to find solutions to the endemic problem of bullying in America's schools," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "We also would like to thank Sirdeaner Walker for her courage in telling her story so that other families may not have to endure the unthinkable tragedy of losing a child due in part to bullying.
"We urge Congress to pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act. As a nation, we must begin to address school bullying as the public health risk that it is. A federal anti-bullying policy is an important step toward making sure that all students are safe in school."
Added Walker: "The most important thing I've learned is that bullying is not an inevitable part of growing up. It can be prevented. And there isn't a moment to lose."
"Schools should be places of safety, not fear. Yet, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children and young adults, children and young adults who are perceived by peers to be LGBT, and the children of LGBT parents all remain at high risk of aggressive bullying and harassment. Sadly, the nation has recently witnessed many youth suicides that were caused by aggressive and unremitting school bullying targeted at a student's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This year, for example, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old in Massachusetts committed suicide because he faced daily and severe anti-gay bullying. As such examples demonstrate, unsafe schools can have profoundly destructive consequences."Bullying and harassment motivated by homophobia, biphobia and transphobia are national problems deserving of federal legislative attention. The Task Force Action Fund welcomes federal measures to increase school safety that are cognizant of the specific prejudices faced by LGBT students and families. As one such measure, we ask Congress to pass H.R. 2262, the Safe Schools Improvement Act, introduced by Rep. Linda Sanchez. The Safe Schools Improvement Act would help schools deal with bullying and harassment that target a student's actual or perceived identity or associations with persons or groups on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion. It would send a strong and clear message that schools have a duty to actively protect all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."
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