Franken stands up for LGBT kids at civil rights hearing
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 7:00 am
- 9 Comments
At an oversight hearing of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on Tuesday, Sen. Al Franken advocated for laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment of LGBT students in the nation’s public high schools. “The fact is that discrimination and harassment are a fact of life for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender students across the country, yet there is no explicit protection in federal law that bars discrimination and harassment against LGBT students,” Franken told Thomas Perez, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division.
Franken recounted the case of J.L. v. Mohawk Central School District where a 14-year-old male student was harassed to the point of violence — he was pushed down a flight of stairs and threatened at knife-point because his fellow students thought he was gay. When his parents complained, school officials said, “Boys will be boys.”
“Unfortunately, this case is hardly unique and a similar case came up in my state,” said Franken. He asked Perez, “Do we need an explicit ban against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity?”
Perez didn’t answer the question directly, but did say, “Today’s bullies are tomorrows’ civil rights defendants,” citing “horrific” school bullying cases he has prosecuted. “The federal government can make a difference,” he said.
Franken ended his questioning by saying he would work to get federal protections in place. “I would like to work with you on this for specific protections for LGBT kids. It’s a very real thing that there is this bullying in schools.”
Follow Andy Birkey on Twitter9 Comments
Comment posted April 21, 2010 @ 9:47 am
Pushed down a flight of stairs…isn’t that criminal assault worthy of jail time?
Comment posted April 21, 2010 @ 12:33 pm
Finally, someone who gets it, and much else besides. Thank you, Sen. Franken, for your good work.
Comment posted April 21, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
Matthew, According to the student’s school officials, it’s not a crime if your victim is (or might be) gay. Boys will be boys.
This is why those protections are necessary.
Pingback posted April 23, 2010 @ 8:23 am
[...] At an oversight hearing of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on Tuesday, Sen. Al Franken questioned assistant attorney general Thomas Perez about including LGBT students in federal civil rights laws, according to the Minnesota Independent. [...]
Comment posted April 25, 2010 @ 10:39 pm
Once again Franken proves that his eardrums are separated by high density fecal matter. Pushing down stairs and threats with knives are already illegal. School officials are irrelevant; the police department would handle such matters.
We all endure harassment as children but most of us don’t go asking for special legal consideration. Some people just seem to think they should get special privileges. And idiots like Franken are just too happy to kowtow to those arrogant whiners.
Comment posted April 27, 2010 @ 10:58 am
This is nothing but another attempt to force the gay agenda into our schools by forcing administrators and teachers to tell children homosexuality is normal. All bullying is wrong and against school rules so why would gays need special protection? Kids always pick on those they see as different so why not just teach children that making fun of those different from you is inappropriate instead of emphasizing gays Mr Franken?
Pingback posted April 27, 2010 @ 11:58 pm
[...] Al Franken asked testifiers at the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee how the nation’s public education system can address bullying targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students. And the Minnesota senator announced he’ll be introducing a bill to address the issue of bullying that targets LGBT students. It’s the second time in recent weeks that Franken has spoken out in committee hearings about the issue. [...]
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