FOX 23 NEWS 
A New York senator is looking to better protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students from bullying.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is joining with a coalition of 21 Senate colleagues to introduce the Student Non-Discrimination Act. It comes after President Obama addressed anti-bullying
in his visit to Massachusetts.
The legislation is to protect LGBT students from harassment, bullying, and violence at school.
“While at school to learn, some students are forced to endure harassment, violence, bullying, and intimidation because of their sexual orientation. This is completely unacceptable. Our laws ensure that all students have access to public education in a safe environment free from discrimination, and these laws must guarantee these same protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students,” said Sen. Gillibrand.
The Nationwide Children’s Hospital finds LGBT youth are bullied two to three times more often than others.
“Like so many others this past fall, I was shocked and saddened by all the reports about young LGBT people taking their lives after facing relentless bullying in schools,” said Glennda Testone, Executive Director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center. “We see hundreds of LGBT youth each week who are seeking a welcoming home.”
The Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA) would protect LGBT students against discrimination in public schools. It will also forbid schools from discriminating against LGBT students or ignoring harassing behavior.
Ben Yakas in News on March 17, 2011
Brooklyn man was brutally beaten by a gang of teenagers in Wiliamsburg last month because the teens thought he was gay. Barie Shortell was attacked by a group of six teens on N. Fourth Street on Feb. 22 around 10 pm. The group mocked and taunted him with anti-gay slurs, including, “Oh s-t, is that a guy or a girl?” before jumping and attacking him. Shortell told Brooklyn Paper, “I feel pretty confident they perceived me as a gay man and attacked me, but I can’t understand why they did what they did. I looked horrible. Blood was everywhere.”
He wasn’t robbed, but he was left with a broken nose, jaw and eye socket. Surgeons operated for nearly 10 hours resetting his jaw and putting three metal plates in his head—one surgeon compared the force of impact to that of a car accident. The attack has now been deemed a hate crime, but no arrests have been made.
Shortell is recovering now; since he has no health insurance, his friends have organized a fundraiser at Blackout Bar in Greenpoint next Wednesday for him, called “Gay Bash: A Benefit For Barie Shortell.” You can see all the information about the event here; there is also a Facebook page, and a donation page for Shortell here.
March 3, 2011
When 11-year-old Brenton Peraita got sent to the office of his elementary school, he knew he was in big trouble. But then… “I was just sitting in one of the chairs in the office, waiting. And I saw a police officer. And I was like, ‘Oh No,'” Brenton said.
Police arrested Brenton for making criminal threats after he said he wished he had a gun to get rid of some other students- students that, he says, had been bullying and abusing him.
“His reward for standing up for himself and saying, ‘I’m no longer going to be the victim,’ was a ride to the police department and a mug shot,” said Jose Peraita, Brenton’s father. Brenton was also finger printed, and issued a citation.
“They called me names and stuff,” Brenton said. “They called me ‘Brentina,’ and ‘homo,’ and ‘fag,'” he says. The Peraita’s say bullies also broke Brenton’s glasses. They say the problem has been ongoing for months, and they have gone to the school to complain 50 times. “We don’t have a gun. That was the day he decided to stand-up for himself,” Jose Peraita said. Police confirmed that no actual gun was located in the course of their investigation.
Filed under: Noticias | Tags: centro lgbtt, igual que tu, Institutional Gay bullying, puerto rico
Confieso, debí haber hecho este comentario hace varias semanas atras…
Sin duda un proyecto ampliamente anticipado, y sobre todo, altamente necesario, sale del mundo de las ideas, y cobra vida plena en nuestro país. En esta ocasión, se trata del Centro Comunitario LGBTT de Puerto Rico, ubicado en la calle Mayaguez # 37 altos, Urb. Perez Morris, Hato Rey. Convencidos de que la educación es el recurso instrumental en la prevención del acoso, la violencia de género y los crímenes de odio, son iniciativas como estas que anteceden las vias de comunicación, paz y entendimiento que han de recuperarse en estas circunstancias insolidarias en las que nos encontramos.
Para aquellos con cuentas de Facebook (quedaremos dos o tres en resistencia), les invito a acceder a http://es-la.facebook.com/group.php?gid=321520294054, página a través de la cual conocerán la misión, metas, y servicios que estarán ofreciendo en su nuevo centro comunitario, así como las necesidades que ha identificado el recién inagurado.
Les deseo mucho éxito, y demasiada perseverancia.
Chris Johnson | Mar 01, 2011
The White House is set to hold a conference next week in which President Obama will hear concerns about anti-LGBT bullying.
The anti-bullying prevention conference, scheduled to take place at the White House on March 10, is being hosted by Obama, the Department of Education and the Department of Health & Human Services.
In a conference call Tuesday, Melody Barnes, White House domestic policy adviser, said the conference will bring together students, parents, teachers and other leaders who “have been affected by bullying, and who have taken action to prevent bullying.”
Bullying against LGBT students received renewed attention late last year when several young men who were gay or perceived to be gay took their own lives after they were reportedly bullied. Among them was Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University student, who leaped off the George Washington Bridge in September after a video was posted online of him reportedly having a sexual encounter with another man in his dorm room.
“The president believes we must ensure schools are safe for all kids for every single child who walks through that door, and we look forward to this conference and the opportunity to hear from individuals from diverse backgrounds about how bullying has affected their lives as well as attempts individuals and communities have taken to stop it,” Barnes said.
“In the State of the Union address and in his [fiscal year] 2012 budget, President Obama has called for key investments in education,” Duncan said. “He believes in order to win the future for this generation and next, we must dramatically accelerate learning for all children.”
salsinmiedo 