FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 5, 2008
CONTACT: Ali Bay, Communications Manager, Equality California Institute
PHONE: (916) 284-9187 EMAIL: ali@eqca.org
CONTACT: Coral Lopez, Director of Communications, BIENESTAR
PHONE: (323) 387-1533 EMAIL: clopez@bienestar.org
Youth Demand Safety in California Schools
Following Tragic Death of 15-year-old Lawrence King,
Student Advocates Call for End of Harassment Against LGBT Youth
SACRAMENTO – Student leaders from across California gathered at the Capitol today, where they called for the end of harassment and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. Youth advocates participated in an 11 a.m. press conference on the west steps of the Capitol with elected officials, decrying violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Earlier this year, Lawrence “Larry” King’s life was violently cut short after he was shot in the head by a classmate in his Oxnard classroom. The junior high school shooting was allegedly motivated by Larry’s gender expression and is being treated as a hate crime.
LGBT youth leaders and their allies, participating in Queer Youth Advocacy Day 2008, encouraged policy makers to better enforce existing laws that were designed to protect students like Larry. The leaders met with the office of Jack O’Connell, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, to discuss issues they face in school. At the press conference, they were joined by several legislative leaders, including Sen. Sheila Kuehl and Assemblymembers John Laird, Mark Leno, Mike Eng, Lloyd Levine and Julia Brownley. West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon and Sacramento County Board of Education Member Gretchen Bender also addressed the youth.
Queer Youth Advocacy Day is a three-day leadership and advocacy event for students. It is sponsored by the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Equality California Institute, Transgender Law Center and BIENESTAR.
"Queer Youth Advocacy Day empowers LGBT youth and straight allies to become engaged in the political process, sharing their powerful stories with legislators and school administrators about harassment and discrimination that is unfortunately still a daily problem in our schools," said GSA Network Executive Director Carolyn Laub. "Youth leaders from across California are simply asking our state’s leaders to stand alongside them in the fight to create safer schools, so that what happened to Larry King in Oxnard doesn’t ever happen again in California schools."
California law protects students in public schools against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In many schools, however, youth continue to report incidents of bullying, harassment and violence. In addition, state laws designed to prevent the harassment of all students, not only those who identify as LGBT, have long been under attack by anti-gay organizations and lawmakers.
“Young people today are coming out earlier than ever before, in high school and in junior high,” said Equality California Institute Executive Director Geoff Kors. “As a result, students often face harassment, bullying and the threat of violence – simply because they choose to live their lives openly. This crisis of discrimination must come to an end before more young lives are lost.”
"I am humbled and encouraged by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth leaders who are inspired to educate our state's policy makers about the need to implement safe schools laws," said Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center. "Even with legal protections, too many students face violence and harassment based on their orientation and gender identity. We must take a lesson from our youth, and work tirelessly to ensure that laws and policies to protect our students are uniformly implemented throughout California."
“Our elected leaders, like our youth, must not forget that there is much work to be done around school safety,” said BIENESTAR Executive Director Oscar De La O. “The death of Lawrence King is a reminder that we must continue our commitment to protect young people and revisit any laws that are not being properly engaged on a daily basis. Our work must continue until all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, have a safe and welcoming learning environment.”
Queer Youth Advocacy Day 2008 received support from Gretchen Bender, vice president of the Sacramento County Board of Education, in addition to numerous other sponsors.
GSA Network is a nonprofit organization, governed by youth and adults, that empowers youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in schools through Gay-Straight Alliance clubs. There are currently more than 650 GSA clubs in California schools, including nearly 50% of the public high schools. www.gsanetwork.org
Equality California Institute’s mission is to inform lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and the public at large about issues impacting the LGBT community and our allies, train activists to respond and work proactively for LGBT equality, and connect communities working for justice and civil rights for all. www.eqca.org
Transgender Law Center (TLC) is a civil rights organization advocating for
transgender communities. TLC provides free legal services to transgender
people throughout California and works with community members and partnering organizations on cutting-edge transgender rights policy initiatives. www.transgenderlawcenter.org
BIENESTAR is committed to enhancing the health and well-being of the Latino community and other underserved communities. BIENESTAR accomplishes this through community education, prevention, mobilization, advocacy and the provision of direct social services. www.bienestar.org
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