By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 5:18pm
Today is National Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Day, a day to “strengthen the bond between LGBT people and straight allies” by recognizing the critical role that GSAs play in schools nationwide. GSAs are student-run extracurricular clubs that bring together LGBT and straight students to support each other, promote acceptance and are common in public school districts throughout the nation. They are crucial to providing a safe, supportive environment for LGBT students to educate the school community about homophobia, gender identity and sexual orientation issues.
With so much recent news coverage on suicides of LGBT youth, those of us who work on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender safe schools issues have a lot on our plate. We're trying to figure out how best to respond to the needs of LGBT youth, as always. But we're also thinking about how to use the current media attention to these issues as a teachable moment to get the public to understand the importance of school anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies and laws that include gender identity and sexual orientation. Those topics and more were part of the discussion at last week's convening of the National Safe Schools Roundtable, a coalition of organizations that work to make schools safer for LGBT students, which I attended in Minneapolis on behalf of the ACLU LGBT Project.
By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 3:19pm
Last Thursday, the White House released what is perhaps the most important submission to date for the It Gets Better Project. In a three-minute long video message to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth — far too often the victims of unrelenting discrimination and harassment in their schools — President Obama conveys his support and encouragement to these young people. President Obama says:
By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 4:20pm
The ACLU has been invited to offer our civil liberties and civil rights recommendations to the Democratic National Committee’s “platform drafting committee,” which is currently meeting in Minneapolis to begin the process of putting together the 2012 Democratic National Platform. While the ACLU is a nonpartisan organization, we welcome opportunities to infuse a respect for and commitment to civil liberties in the political process. We would also be pleased to offer our views to the Republican National Committee’s platform drafters.
By Ian S. Thompson, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 1:42pm
Like football fans around the country, I'm anxiously awaiting the official start of the 2011 NFL season and another exciting Super Bowl run for my favorite team — Here We Go Steelers!
In addition to the start of a new football season, fall marks the return of millions of students to schools across the country. Sadly, one group of students in particular, those who are or are thought to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT), remain uniquely vulnerable to discrimination, harassment and abuse in public schools across the country. While numerous professional baseball teams and individual athletes have stepped up to deliver video messages of hope and support to these young people through the It Gets Better Project, it remains to be seen which NFL team will be the first to produce an It Gets Better video.
