Bullying

COON RAPIDS, Minn. -- The Anoka-Hennepin School Board, whose district recently settled two lawsuits alleging that a former policy had contributed to a hostile environment toward LGBT students and those perceived as LGBT, has appointed a member of an anti-gay organization to join the district’s new Anti-Bullying/Anti-Harassment Task Force. [ Read more → ]

The annual "Mix It Up at Lunch Day" -- a decade-old program that encourages school children to overcome cultural, societal, or other differences by sitting with those they don't normally hang out with during lunch -- has been attacked by the American Family Association (AFA), as a "radical gay indoctrination program." [ Read more → ]

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, Calif. -- A 17-year-old high school senior from this hillside area just east of Oakland, Calif., has been told by the Boy Scouts that he is not eligible to be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout because he is gay. [ Read more → ]

Two years ago today, Billy (William) Lucas, a 15-year-old from Greensburg, Ind., was was found dead in a barn at his grandmother’s home — he had hanged himself. While Billy never self-identified as gay, friends said he was tormented for years because other kids thought he was gay. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK -- In its latest National School Climate Survey released Wednesday, GLSEN -- the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network -- reported that while LGBT students are faring better than they have in the past, there is still much room for improvement. [ Read more → ]

“What are you? A bunch of pansies?” I heard his words, echoing across the grass, and felt like I’d been punched in the gut. All those taunts through the years stay with you, even if you’ve risen above them. I immediately walked over, called my son off the field, and told the coach we were done. We were going to switch teams. And he let us go… [ Read more → ]

Now, as you can probably guess, there have been some, on the right, who have correlated Chick-fil-A's recent public relations firestorm to Donald Perry’s sudden death. Some have even dubbed him as a victim of “leftist homosexual bullying,” asserting that the stress set upon him by the opposition to Chick-fil-A is what lead to his “untimely” demise. Some have even attempted to draw parallels between Perry’s death and those of gay teens, bullied into suicide -- claims which range from absurd to downright repugnant... [ Read more → ]

EL PASO, Texas -- An El Paso, Texas school district has strengthened its anti-discrimination policies to prevent bullying of LGBT students and employees after an El Paso teen committed suicide last month after enduring two years of anti-gay bullying. [ Read more → ]

LONDON -- New research by the University of Cambridge for British gay rights charity Stonewall UK's School Report 2012 found that 55 percent of lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils in Britain’s secondary schools experience homophobic bullying. [ Read more → ]

WASHINGTON -- District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray signed a bill on Friday that will require city agencies that work directly with young people to implement an anti-bullying policy. [ Read more → ]

DENVER -- Most of Colorado’s school districts have yet to update their bullying policies to come into compliance with a 2011 state law protecting LGBT youth, a survey by the state’s largest LGBT advocacy organization shows. [ Read more → ]

ALBANY, N.Y. -- The New York state legislature this week approved a bill that would require the state's public schools to develop procedures to address complaints of email, texting and online harassment -- also referred to as cyber-bullying. [ Read more → ]

PALM COAST, Fla. -- A Florida school district has settled a complaint filed against it with the U.S. Office of Civil Rights which alleged that the staff at Flagler Palm Coast High School allowed a gay former student to be bullied. [ Read more → ]

NEW YORK -- A Brooklyn teenager was was left blind in one eye after being assaulted by bullies who shouted anti-gay epithets during an attack earlier this month at his middle school, according to the teen's family [ Read more → ]

Former Rutgers student Dharun Ravi was released from prison Tuesday after serving 20 days on a 30-day sentence for using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate who later committed suicide. [ Read more → ]

EL PASO, Texas — Another bullied gay youth lost to suicide. El Paso teen Brandon Elizares, 16, took his own life on June 2, according to family and friends. [ Read more → ]

TORONTO, Ontario -- The Accepting Schools Act, an anti-bullying measure also known as Bill 13, passed through the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on Tuesday by a vote of 65-36. [ Read more → ]

ERIE, Ill. -- An Illinois school district has banned all student materials provided or endorsed by GLSEN, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, including learning materials and various programs aimed at preventing bullying. [ Read more → ]

The lack of public figures or role models for teenagers, and the hesitancy of schools to include same-sex sexualities in sex-ed curricula, despite these being a normal part of human sexuality, give these negative attitudes more influence by not contrasting them with the more positive reality. Given the body of mental health research that has consistently connected stigma and suicidality, and despite the progress we’ve made, the present state of society leaves me concerned... [ Read more → ]

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Legislation that would require Illinois schools to create anti-bullying programs and fully explain how they would investigate bullying instances failed to pass in the state Senate Tuesday amid fear it could be used to promote acceptance of homosexuality. [ Read more → ]