Does your state protect GLBT students from anti-gay bullying at school? If it is like 42 American states, it doesn't! According to the ACLU,
"Just as the school year ended, Oregon passed a law adding sexual orientation and gender identity/expression to its anti-bullying law, becoming the seventh state to specifically protect LGBT students from harassment. One month later, North Carolina became the eighth state to do so, when Governor Beverly Purdue signed that state's first anti-bullying law. The Minnesota legislature passed a similar bill, but it was vetoed by Governor Tim Pawlenty, who had previously said he would sign it. The New York Assembly passed LGBT-specific anti-bullying legislation, but the bill died in the Senate. Bills were also introduced in Arizona, Michigan, Missouri and Virginia."
Recently, legislation that would amend federal anti-bullying law to include sexual orientation and gender identity was re-introduced in Congress. This is called the Safe Schools Improvement Act and it would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to require schools that receive federal funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment. This would include bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as race and religion.
Some people think that bullying builds character, or teaches kids how to stand up for themselves. Really, though, bullying just destroys a person's self-esteem and for GLBT teens, it adds additional burdens to an already confusing time of life.
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