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Stop Bullying! Pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act

Target: U.S. Congress
Sponsored by: Care2.com
We've experienced several tragic suicides of middle-school aged children -- each provoked by anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying and harassment.

These heartbreaking student suicides are a chilling reminder to all of us that we need to stand up and take action to prevent the perpetuation of soul crushing anti-LGBT behavior that is claiming young lives.

Passing the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 2262) would mark a pivotal turning point in the crucial fight for safer schools. It would establish -- for the first time in our nation's history -- a federal mandate for schools to adopt anti-bullying policies that include the categories of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. This act would ensure that schools no longer get a "pass" when they turn a blind eye to anti-LGBT behavior, and it would require them to address all forms of bullying.

Take a stand today. Urge your representative to support the Safe Schools Improvement Act today.
deadline: Ongoing...
goal: 20,000
 

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Dear Representative,

Last month the Safe Schools Improvement Act (H.R. 2262) was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor. It is my hope that you will do the right thing and support this essential piece of legislation that will help make schools safer for all students regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression.

H.R. 2262 would require schools that receive Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act funding to implement comprehensive anti-bullying policies that enumerate categories often targeted by bullies, including race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression and others.

Up until this point we have failed our students and young people by allowing anti-LGBT bullying to go unfettered and unchecked. The most recent result of our negligence to respond collectively and proactively to this endemic problem has been the loss of two young lives this past April. Within just two weeks this spring, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover of Springfield, MA, and Jaheem Herrera of DeKalb, GA, returned from school with broken spirits and hanged themselves following relentless bullying and anti-LGBT taunts. These were just the reported cases -- thousands more suffer silently.
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Sincerely,
[Your name here]
We took action on “Stop Bullying! Pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act”!
# 15,370:
12:45 pm PST, Feb 9, Name not displayed, New York
i suggest, that each teacher should divided their clases in small groups of 5 so every students will have friends and never walk alone in the school. this could help in many ways, so students never feel isolated.
# 15,369:
5:19 pm PST, Feb 8, Sherry Wade, Nevada
# 15,368:
2:35 pm PST, Feb 8, Ruth Bradt, Tennessee
# 15,367:
10:13 am PST, Feb 8, Michael Earley, United Kingdom
# 15,366:
7:18 pm PST, Feb 7, Melissa Duffey, Canada
# 15,365:
3:13 pm PST, Feb 7, Jean Owens, Colorado
# 15,364:
12:46 pm PST, Feb 7, Name not displayed, Oklahoma
# 15,363:
9:23 pm PST, Feb 6, Alexandra Scarborough, Ohio
# 15,362:
3:54 pm PST, Feb 6, Amy Buckingham, Michigan
# 15,361:
1:02 pm PST, Feb 6, Portia Thompson, Georgia
# 15,360:
10:23 am PST, Feb 6, Kathryn Burns, California
# 15,359:
9:32 am PST, Feb 6, K A Martin, Washington
# 15,358:
4:31 pm PST, Feb 5, Katherine Dimitri, California
# 15,357:
11:03 am PST, Feb 5, Costantina Lentini, Italy
# 15,356:
8:17 am PST, Feb 5, Amelia Barber, West Virginia
# 15,355:
10:07 pm PST, Feb 4, Hilary Bloom, Vermont
# 15,353:
1:07 pm PST, Feb 4, Sabrina Schnur, Pennsylvania
# 15,352:
12:06 pm PST, Feb 4, Name not displayed, Ohio
Speaks for its self.
# 15,351:
3:29 pm PST, Feb 3, Adrienne Boyars, California
# 15,350:
1:28 pm PST, Feb 3, Alexia Ferranti, Arizona
# 15,349:
10:49 am PST, Feb 3, Tyra Barrett, Nebraska
# 15,348:
6:10 pm PST, Feb 2, Marlena Santoyo, Pennsylvania
# 15,347:
5:06 pm PST, Feb 2, Meghan Hunt, New York
# 15,346:
5:06 pm PST, Feb 2, Molly Verhoff, Ohio
# 15,345:
2:54 pm PST, Feb 2, Lee Booth, Michigan
# 15,344:
2:37 pm PST, Feb 2, Name not displayed, Colorado
# 15,343:
1:41 pm PST, Feb 2, Maria Grazia, Peru
# 15,342:
1:01 pm PST, Feb 2, Monica Miranda, Texas
As a culture, we are focusing new attention on childhood bullying and harassment. As we watch children being crushed by bullying, we often feel powerless. No more! There are ways to stop bullying, based on decades of research. According to world-wide research, 50% reductions in rates of bullying are possible. There is little need to describe why people want to stop childhood bullying. Youth who bully frequently during adolescence are more likely to be aggressive and to have criminal records in adulthood. Bullied children may grow up with diminished self-confidence. We sometimes see bullying as an inevitable part of childhood. Yet, according to world-wide research, 50% reductions in rates of bullying are possible. The Stop Bullying Now intervention is based on the work of many researchers in bullying prevention, including Norway's Dan Olweus, England's Smith and Sharp, the USA's Dorothea Ross, Canada's Wendy Craig and Debra Pepler, Australia's Ken Rigby, and on social worker Stan Davis's forty years of experience with children, families, and schools.
# 15,341:
5:17 am PST, Feb 2, Susan Inman, Michigan
# 15,340:
1:59 am PST, Feb 2, Dawn Zegledi, Florida
# 15,339:
9:23 pm PST, Feb 1, Michael Popovich, Jr., Arizona
# 15,338:
8:56 pm PST, Feb 1, KELLE PEEPLEZ, Arizona
# 15,337:
4:26 pm PST, Feb 1, Ariana Lanchester, Georgia
# 15,336:
12:53 pm PST, Feb 1, Danny Dwinell, Washington
I remember skipping grade school & middle school as a kid because of bullies; the adults did nothing. It's time to put an end to bullying.
# 15,335:
12:42 pm PST, Feb 1, Kathleen Brabender, Wisconsin
# 15,334:
10:26 am PST, Feb 1, Vanesssa Tercero, Pennsylvania
# 15,333:
8:10 am PST, Feb 1, Kimberly Hollowell, Texas
# 15,332:
7:45 am PST, Feb 1, Name not displayed, Arizona
# 15,331:
7:29 am PST, Feb 1, Juanita Barrera, Texas
# 15,330:
7:24 am PST, Feb 1, Krissy Medrano, Texas
# 15,329:
6:08 am PST, Feb 1, Jennifer Bennett, New York
# 15,328:
2:08 am PST, Feb 1, Bradshaw Cummings, Maine
# 15,327:
12:48 am PST, Feb 1, Name not displayed, Oregon
# 15,326:
9:53 pm PST, Jan 31, Betty Yee, New York
I wish that this kind of bullying would stop! Doesn't matter whether you're straight, gay, etc. At some point we're all born pansexual. Stupid people make closeted gays reject how they feel! I wonder how those bullies would feel if gays beat them and made fun of them for being straight!
# 15,325:
9:06 pm PST, Jan 31, Alan Yung, Illinois
# 15,324:
9:01 pm PST, Jan 31, Name not displayed, California
# 15,323:
8:52 pm PST, Jan 31, Corinna Morton, Utah
# 15,322:
8:45 pm PST, Jan 31, Patricia Gallo, Arizona
# 15,321:
7:36 pm PST, Jan 31, Constance Monath, New York
# 15,320:
7:06 pm PST, Jan 31, Bridget Jensen, Texas
# 15,319:
6:46 pm PST, Jan 31, Aaron Hunter, Nevada
# 15,318:
2:25 pm PST, Jan 31, James McCormack, New York
# 15,317:
12:48 pm PST, Jan 31, Barry Deist, Pennsylvania
# 15,316:
10:59 am PST, Jan 31, Kat Bain, Pennsylvania
# 15,315:
10:13 am PST, Jan 31, Trisha Van Wig, Missouri
# 15,314:
9:42 am PST, Jan 31, Karen Agugliaro, Florida
# 15,313:
3:34 am PST, Jan 31, Sawye Hong, Korea, Republic Of
please show that you care about the children of this country. Think of these children as your own.
# 15,312:
12:42 am PST, Jan 31, Alicia Morrier, Hawaii
# 15,311:
12:42 am PST, Jan 31, Sarah Marie, California
# 15,310:
10:33 pm PST, Jan 30, Nichole Dreiling, Kansas
Being judged for what type of gender you like is absolutely absurd- does it look like they're going to like you? No, so don't make fun of them for who they are. More and more gay teenagers are committing suicide each and everyday because they are being treated poorly about it. Most people don't even come out until they have found the right person to be in their life and show them to his/her family. Many are afraid to come out because they are afraid of what their families might think. In my opinion I think it's outrageously absurd that kids would judge people for who they really are.
# 15,309:
9:26 pm PST, Jan 30, Name not displayed, Florida
All schools should have a no tolerance policy for bullying of any kind. It's difficult to understand that people believe LGBT is something these kids would choose to just be different; they are born that way just as many of us are born with blue eyes or blond hair! The fact that we are ALL different in our own ways should be celebrated and not used as an excuse for abuse. All students should be protected from bullying ... and the bullies should be punished.
# 15,308:
9:16 pm PST, Jan 30, Kevin Black, Maine
The Safe Schools Act needs to be passed, NOW! This is important, for all the students in school who are there to learn, but cannot due to bullying because of their sexual orientation. Pass this NOW!!
# 15,307:
7:52 pm PST, Jan 30, Name not displayed, Nevada
I always worry that my openly gay teen brother will be harassed, bullied, or even beaten at school, or even at a school event. I don't want to have to worry for his safety, or even the safety of other teens, particularly at a time in their lives that can be difficult enough. Bullying in schools is problematic enough but to add sexual orientation into the mix is a series of accidents or tragedies waiting to happen.
# 15,306:
4:25 pm PST, Jan 30, Name not displayed, Pakistan
People shouldn't be treated differently because of their sexual orientation. Live and let live!
# 15,305:
3:52 pm PST, Jan 30, Chris Ince Jr., California
# 15,304:
2:39 pm PST, Jan 30, Joseph Paton Marshall, Virginia
The high school years are difficult for adolescents becoming acquinted with their identities, As a retired teacher, I know how these problems affect kids, and how unkind some students can be to others. Please pass this bill.
# 15,303:
2:29 pm PST, Jan 30, Lisa See, Nevada
It is none of our business what is happening in other people's bedrooms. It is so stupid to hate people just because we are concerned with who they are sleeping with. There are bigger issues other than whether or not God likes or dislikes lesbians and gays. How about putting more focus on clean air, quality of our food, and saving the animals. I am sick and tired of people being picked on just because of their sexual orientation. We shouldn't even be worried about this topic because people should just let other people choose who they want as partners. Too many people want to nosy about issues that are really not their business. Unfortunately, it is sad that we have to ask our government to protect chilldren from bullying because of their sexual orientation. Their parents should be teaching them to mind their own business, but, unfortunatley some of these parents are spreading hate ideas into their children's heads.
# 15,302:
11:23 am PST, Jan 30, Stacey Wachter, Maryland
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