2
GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
May 8, 2009
·
www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com
Bill would add LGBT kids to federal bullying law
by Eric Resnick
Washington, D.C.-In the wake of the April suicides of two 11-year-old students bullied because they were thought to be gay, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House on May 5 to add sexual orientation and gender identity to an existing law on bullying and harassment.
The Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act, part of 2001's "No Child Left Behind," now deals only partly with the problem.
The new measure requires schools and districts that receive federal funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including that motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity.
Currently the codes are left to the states and individual districts to write. Most
cover harassment for nearly every reason except sexual orientation and gender.
Ohio has no protection for LGBT students. A 2005 law against bullying names several targeted groups, but does not include LGBT students.
The Safe Schools Improvement Act, as the new bill is known, would also require that states report data on bullying and harassment to the Department of Education.
In the 2007 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, nearly three-fifths of LGBT students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third felt unsafe because of their gender identity.
Close to half of LGBT students-44 percent-reported physical harassment
Lesbian law profs
Continued from page 1
Behind the scenes, LGBT advocacy groups are encouraging Obama to appoint an LGBT person to the nation's highest court. Before the election, LGBT Democrats struck a deal with candidate Obama, arranging a pass on marriage equality in exchange for an LGBT cabinet member.
Sullivan, 53, is currently Stanford's Stanley Morrison Professor of Law, a position she took following four years as the school's dean. She also practices appellate litigation for a California law firm.
Sullivan is known as one of the leading authorities in the nation on consti-
and 22 percent reported being assaulted at school in the last year.
The bill is sponsored by Democrats Linda Sanchez of California and Carolyn McCarthy of New York and Republican Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.
Sanchez and Ros-Lehtinen introduced a similar measure during the last session of congress.
The current bill has 20 co-sponsors including openly gay Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Barney Frank of Massachusetts. Betty Sutton of Akron is the only Ohio co-sponsor.
The National Safe Schools Partnership led by GLSEN, teacher unions, and administrator professional groups recommended the changes to current law in its June 2007 report on bullying titled "Bridging the Gap in Federal Law."
"It is time we combat outdated and
2003 Lawrence v. Texas which overturned Bowers.
Karlan, 54, is Stanford's Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law.
She is a graduate of Yale Law School, and is considered one of the nation's top legal minds on matters of voting rights and civil procedure and litigation.
Karlan has worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and was a clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun.
Karlan also wrote a brief asking the court to declare state sodomy laws unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas.
Both worked on a 2007 brief urging
erroneous beliefs that downplay the seriousness of bullying," said Sanchez. "Bullying is not a harmless 'rite of passage' and can no longer be brushed off as child's play."
"Unlike child's play, victims of bullying do not choose to participate, and rather than build character, bullying can cause children to become anxious, fearful, unhappy, and even cause them to be physically sick," Sanchez continued.
"Schools may not always have the resources to train teachers to spot and prevent harmful bullying and this bill will allow them to use funds for proper training," said Sanchez. "Three-quarters of all school shooting incidents have been linked to bullying and harassment, and victims of bullying and harassment are more likely to be depressed or suicidal."
California's supreme court to rule in favor of marriage equality.
The federal courts are nearly void of openly LGBT judges, though there are closeted ones. President Clinton appointed lesbian Deborah Batts to the District Court of Manhattan.
Anti-LGBT activists decried Sullivan's possible nomination as soon as it hit the Victory Fund site. Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told Politico that, "A parallel to that would be Bill Clinton's gays in the military battle, which really hurt his agenda from that point forward."
Kathleen Sullivan
Obama claims to oppose marriage equality for same-sex couples, touting civil unions as adequate substitutes, with little challenge from LGBT advocates. Though there have been more than 30 LGBT people appointed at various levels to the new administration, none are in the cabinet.
A high court appointment could settle that
score.
tutional law and authored a widely used textbook on the subject.
While a student at Harvard, Laurence Tribe called her "the most extraordinary student I ever had."
Doing LGBT legal work, Sullivan penned briefs for the 1986 U.S. Supreme Court case Bowers v. Hardwick which upheld sodomy laws, and the
Pamela Karlan
LINDA A. CICERO STANFORD U. NEWS SERVICE (2)
NORKA
Mattresses. Futons Sleep Sofas Platforms
•
บ STONE-
GRAPHIC
DESIGN
CBArtwork Ads
ostcards
hirts
ess Cards
Platform Beds Dressers, Nightstands, Tables Twin, Full, Queen & King
Lakewood 15112 Detroit 216-226-2660 Cleve Hts. 1812 Coventry 216-371-8489 Akron 143 W. Market 330-253-9330
Futon Sleep Sofas Chairs, Lounges, Loveseats Twin, Full, Queen
VISIT!
Lakewood or Akron
for Factory 2nds or Discontinued
Call or visit www.norkafuton.com for free catalog.
Stone Graphics. 216-701-7711.