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Drawbacks to anti-bullying strategy

Laws should target all attacks — not just those on LGBT kids

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By ADRIAN ALVAREZ

As our society has become more aware that bullying is a major social problem, policymakers and lawyers have begun to grapple with the question of what to do about it. Because bullying is a particularly acute problem for LGBT students—a 2009 study showed that almost 90 percent of these students were verbally harassed based on their sexual orientation—much of this discussion has naturally centered around combating anti-gay bullying specifically.

Yet as a lawyer who works on school bullying cases, I worry that there are drawbacks to an anti-bullying strategy that focuses primarily on anti-LGBT harassment. Measures designed to combat homophobic bullying will undoubtedly help many students. But for plenty of others—including many LGBT students—these remedies will inevitably fall short.

Civil rights groups have taken several different approaches to combating anti-gay bullying. Although there are no laws on the books that allow a student to sue a school system for failure to prevent or address severe anti-gay harassment, some groups have argued that Title IX—which prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex”—should be interpreted to include discrimination based on gender nonconformity or gender stereotypes. Meanwhile, in the political arena, gay activists have backed a bill in Congress called the Student Nondiscrimination Act (SNA), which is modeled after Title IX and would expressly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

But even if the SNA were to pass, and even if courts widely interpret Title IX to cover LGBT students, huge gaps would remain. For one thing, unlike students who report racist, sexist or anti-Semitic bullying, gay students may be reluctant to speak up about homophobic bullying because they don’t want to confirm that they are gay. Likewise, some parents may fear the social stigma that can result from complaining about harassment or filing a lawsuit based on their child’s sexual orientation, especially in very conservative communities.

The bigger problem, however, is that a lot of homophobic bullying takes place in a gray area that can be hard to prove is anti-gay. If one student calls another a “faggot” that’s a clear case of anti-gay taunting. But what if a gay student is regularly called a “pussy” or a “wimp”? Such taunting is probably homophobic, but it’s much harder to prove.

As a result, civil rights groups would be wise to advocate for laws that would allow a student to sue to stop or prevent severe instances of bullying as a whole, rather than limiting their efforts to laws that allow students to sue for anti-gay bullying alone. Currently, there are no federal or state laws that would allow a student to sue for severe and pervasive bullying that is not linked to any discernible characteristic, like race, color, disability, sex or national origin. In other words, there are no statutes on the books anywhere in the United States that would create a private right of action for a kid who was bullied simply because he or she was perceived as different.

In some states, creative lawyers have tried to get around this problem by bringing general bullying suits against school districts under state tort laws. But many of these laws have their own hurdles because they have short statutes of limitation and require parents to put schools on notice before filing a suit. These laws also typically don’t allow prevailing attorneys to recover their fees, which could serve as a disincentive for filing the lawsuit in the first place. And tort actions are often subject to strict immunity laws that protect state entities and their employees from suits, even when the entities or employees have clearly committed a wrong.

The best way to expand legal protections for all students would be the creation of a general private right of action for egregious cases of bullying at the federal and state level. This would arguably provide an even more powerful remedy for gay students than the Student Nondiscrimination Act. Creating an atmosphere in school districts where LGBT students are less likely to be bullied is an important long-term goal. But, in the end, the best way to protect LGBT students may be to try to protect everyone.

Adrian Alvarez is a D.C.-based attorney with Public Justice, P.C.

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Democrats must stop the circular firing squad

Instead focus on blocking Trump’s agenda

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Democrats should take a moment before they go after each other and try to assign blame for the loss. There is plenty of time to do that. From Nancy Pelosi, to Bernie Sanders, each has already voiced their thoughts on who they think is to blame, but it’s too soon for that. 

Democrats should remember Joe Biden is president for more than two more months, and we should be working to make him as strong as possible. There is much he can do in that time, including getting out the budgeted money for environmental issues. Then let’s focus on what the Senate can do, while it is still in the hands of Democrats. Among other things they should confirm a lot of new judges. We know if Republicans were in this situation they would do that. Then on Jan. 21, we can begin the work of rebuilding the Democratic Party where it needs rebuilding, and start the work toward electing Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections. The work needed now is being done by those like Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, who is calling a special session of the legislature to deal with the expected Trump policies that could impact the state. Other Democratic governors, with Democratic legislatures, are doing the same. That is what has to be done now. 

Then the Democratic Party has to finally rid itself of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) who has the nerve to attack the party that allowed him to run in its primaries even though he is not a Democrat. The party gave him all their lists and he has used them to raise money, sell his books, and earn enough to buy his third home. He has never really accomplished much in all his years in Congress. I am sick of listening to him attack the party.

I may not like it, but understand why journalists, and opinion writers, and all the useless commentators on cable TV, like Van Jones, who get paid to be there, all want to make a headline for themselves. The pontificators will all say dumb things, and try to outdo the person sitting next to them. It’s what they get paid to do. So, as is my choice, I have stopped watching any cable TV. But when Democratic politicians do the same thing, I am much less accepting. The election is over, and you don’t need to do it now. You don’t need to attack other Democrats just to try to get your own headline. Hold off a little, take a breath, and let’s all look at the results when we have them all. As I write this, we don’t even know who will win the House of Representatives. Instead of attacking your own party, attack Trump and the Republicans who are proposing things that will hurt your constituents. There is plenty to attack them on already. 

It is pretty clear Trump will not get everything he campaigned on done. He won’t solve the world’s problems in 24 hours. So, let’s develop some ways to attack his tax plan, and let’s keep warning people who voted for him how he will end up hurting them. Let’s talk about tariffs and how bad they can be for the average American. Because we lost this campaign, it doesn’t mean the things we fought for were wrong. Giving new parents $6,000, or helping start-up businesses with more loans and tax cuts, are things still worth fighting for. We know we have to develop new messaging, and that is what we can work on now and try it out. Democrats can do that without attacking each other. 

Instead let’s celebrate those who won. The senators who held on to their seats, like Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.). Then all the LGBTQ members of Congress who were reelected. New members of Congress like Eugene Vindman (D-Va.) and the first transgender woman elected, Sarah McBride (D-Del.). Then the two African-American women elected to the Senate, Lisa Blunt-Rochester (D-Del.), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.). We really do have some things to celebrate.  

Once again, it’s time to stop the circular firing squad, and take that breath. There are groups planning a March on Washington and those of us who are fighters, will be there. We will be there to fight for Democrats in the 2026 mid-term elections. We will be there to join hands again. But there is some time, take a breath and manage to hold your tongue for just a little bit, before going on the attack against your own. 


Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.

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Activists around the world offer potential path forward for American counterparts

Trump’s re-election will not stop fight for LGBTQ rights

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President-elect Donald Trump at the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Donald Trump early on Nov. 9, 2016, declared victory over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. My husband and I arrived in Jerusalem less than 48 hours later.

A Wider Bridge, a group that “advocates for justice, counters LGBTQphobia, and fights anti-Semitism, and other forms of hatred,” months earlier had invited us to participate in one of their missions to Israel. It was my first time in the country.

Our first meeting was at the Shalom Hartman Institute, which describes itself as a “leading center of Jewish thought and education” that seeks “to strengthen Jewish peoplehood, identity, and pluralism; to enhance the Jewish and democratic character of Israel; and to ensure that Judaism is a compelling for good in the 21st century.”

The staffer who greeted us welcomed us to Israel. He then pointed out that Benjamin Netanyahu had been prime minister for nearly a decade.

“Now you will know what it will feel like,” he said.

His comment was cold comfort to many of us who were still reeling over Trump’s victory. It is also one that has repeatedly come to mind as I continue to process the results of the presidential election and what a second Trump presidency will mean for this country, for me as a gay man, for the community that I cover, and especially for transgender Americans and immigrants who the first Trump administration disproportionately targeted.

The U.S. is certainly not the only country in which voters in recent years have elected authoritarian figures who pose a threat to LGBTQ rights.

Viktor Orbán has been Hungary’s prime minister since 2010. Javier Milei has been Argentina’s president since December 2023. Jair Bolsonaro was Brazil’s president from 2019-2023.

Netanyahu was Israel’s prime minister from 1996-1999 and from 2009-2021. He became the country’s prime minister for a third time on Dec. 29, 2022.

Hungary, among other things, has enacted a so-called propaganda law and effectively banned same-sex couples from adopting children since Orbán took office. Milei’s government in August closed Argentina’s National Institute Against Discrimination, Xenophobia and Racism. Bolsonaro, among other things, encouraged fathers to beat their sons if they came out as gay and said people who are vaccinated against COVID-19 are at increased risk for AIDS.

Sofia Diaz protests her dismissal from her job at Argentina’s National Social Security Administration. (Photo courtesy of Sofia Diaz)

Activists who protested against Netanyahu’s proposed judicial system reforms say they would have adversely impacted LGBTQ Israelis. The prime minister postponed these efforts in March 2023 after a nationwide strike paralyzed the country. Israeli lawmakers a few months later approved them after opposition lawmakers stormed out of the Knesset in protest.

LGBTQ activists participate in a protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s proposed reforms to Israel’s judiciary. (Photo courtesy of George Avni/WDG)

Israel, Brazil, Argentina, and Hungary are four of the dozens of countries around the world in which LGBTQ rights have been under attack — and the U.S. will certainly remain on this list once Trump takes office again on Jan. 20. It is certainly a frightening prospect for many in our community, but the activists in the aforementioned countries have not given up, and their American counterparts should not either.

“I’m not saying it’s not easy, but the direction is so clear,” András Léderer, the head of advocacy for the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, told me in April during an interview at a Budapest coffee shop. “They (the Hungarian government) can try to introduce setbacks. They can make life miserable, temporarily, but, you know, you just can’t go against the entire world in that sense.”

A falafel restaurant in Budapest, Hungary, with a decal on the window that notes it welcomes LGBTQ customers. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Hamas militants on Oct. 8, 2023, killed Israel Defense Forces Maj. Sagi Golan in Be’eri, a kibbutz that is near the Israel-Gaza border. His fiancé, Omer Ohana, with the support of Israeli advocacy groups, successfully lobbied Israeli lawmakers to amend the country’s Bereaved Families Law to recognize LGBTQ widows and widowers of fallen servicemembers.

“It was a big effort, and a big success,” Yael Sinai Biblash, the CEO of the Aguda, the Association for LGBTQ Equality in Israel, told me last month after she attended Golan’s memorial service in a Tel Aviv suburb.

Bru Pereira and Gui Mohallem, co-directors of VoteLGBT, a Brazilian organization established in 2014 with a mission to increase LGBTQ representation in politics, in response to Trump’s reelection said they and others in Brazil are “witnessing how grassroots efforts, particularly from marginalized communities, are crucial in defending LGBTQ+ rights under right-wing governments.”

Pride flags fly over Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro on March 20, 2022. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Donald Tusk became Poland’s prime minister last December after a group of coalition parties that he leads won a majority of seats in the Sejm, the lower house of the country’s parliament. President Andrzej Duda, an ally of the conservative Law and Justice party who opposes LGBTQ rights, remains in office as part of the governing coalition.

Deputy Justice Minister Krzysztof Śmiszek is openly gay. His partner, former MP Robert Biedroń, a member of the European Parliament.

Magda Dropek is an activist who ran for the Lesser Poland Regional Assembly in Kraków, Poland’s second-largest city, in April. Lesser Poland is among the provinces that had declared themselves “LGBT-free zones” ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

Magda Dropek votes in Kraków, Poland, on April 7, 2024. (Photo courtesy or Dropek’s X account)

Dropek noted in her X post in response to the U.S. election results that Sarah McBride last week became the first openly transgender woman elected to Congress.

Dropek, like others, pointed out Russian President Vladimir Putin and other politicians respond to “antagonized societies” with “populism and (sacrifice) human rights.” Dropek, however, stressed the new Polish government presents an opportunity.

“What happened in Poland a year ago is still an important story that brings hope to others,” she said. “It’s a huge responsibility, but also work, because this is the time to change mentalities and educate using democratic tools. Because we’ve been coping with everything else, grassroots support and organization for so many years, you know yourselves.”

Trump leaves office on Jan. 20, 2029.

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Racism and misogyny are alive in America

Trump’s confounding victory will hurt many people who voted for him

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(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

A smart, compassionate, African-American/Asian woman, in a mixed marriage, runs for president and loses to a felon, found liable of sexual assault, twice impeached, and leader of a failed coup. What could be the reason? 

I understand people are unhappy with the economy, immigrants coming into our country illegally, and many with their lives in general. But none of this can account for the huge numbers of white, African American, and Latino men, who voted for Trump. In a major shift, Trump won Latino men 54%-44% over Harris, and 50%-39% of white men according to NBC exit polls, and 20% of male Black voters nationally. We need to call that what it is and begin to have a real conversation in this country about it. They are all ending up voting for a man whose policies will hurt them. Whether it be a tax on all the goods they buy, or being anti-union, applauding Elon Musk for firing strikers, or giving tax breaks not to them, but to millionaires and billionaires. African-American men should know he refused to rent them apartments in New York. Latino men should understand he will be knocking on their doors looking for possible family members to deport. All of this overridden by their macho fear of being in a country led by a woman. We have seen this before in Hillary Clinton’s race in 2016. Unless we have an open conversation about this, it will continue to happen. 

Donald Trump is a threat to all decent people around the world. He admires dictators and he will emulate them. He will override our judicial system, using the Justice Department to get back at his enemies. We know this. 

On the abortion issue it appears women voted overwhelmingly to pass every ballot initiative, except the one in South Dakota, to keep abortion legal. It went down in Florida because though 57% voted for it the legislature managed to say it would only pass if it got 60% of the vote. Yet clearly, even many of the white women who voted for these initiatives, didn’t see the danger in then voting for Trump. It is very hard to rationalize. I hear all sorts of explanations on the various news/talk fests on cable TV. People pontificating on all sorts of things. Trying to determine who in the Democratic Party is to blame. In 2016 they blamed the candidate, Hillary. She didn’t do enough, went to the wrong states at the end, didn’t connect with voters. This year they are trying not to blame Harris who was thrown into a campaign only three months before the election. So, many are blaming President Biden for not announcing two years ago he wasn’t going to run again and allowing Democrats to hold a real primary. Who knows, maybe they are right. Harris could never escape the animus toward the Biden administration. She tried valiantly, and I think ran an amazing campaign. As I wrote online, we may have lost an election, but many like me ended up falling in love with Kamala Harris. 

There are a few high points from Tuesday’s election, like the victories of two Democratic, African-American women senators, Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware, and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland. Then Delaware had a double victory, electing Sarah McBride to Congress, where she will become the first elected transgender woman to serve in the House of Representatives. When I write this it looks as if Democrats may actually lose only three senators: Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Jon Tester in Montana, and Republicans won the open seat in West Virginia. Tammy Baldwin will keep her seat from Wisconsin, and in races still too close to call we could see Bob Casey in Pennsylvania, and Jacky Rosen in Nevada, keep their seats. Then Ruben Gallego in Arizona, and Elissa Slotkin in Michigan, have a shot at winning their races in what were open seats. All these results potentially showing the schizophrenia in the electorate in states that Trump won. They all out-performed Harris in their states. After all, a woman senator they know may be OK, but not a strong, African-American/Asian woman, as president. 

We will be dissecting this election for years to come, historians will be looking at how Trump could have won. But the reality for those of us living in the United States now, those who Trump has insulted and degraded, including women, African Americans, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, the disabled, nearly everyone one can think of, we will have to live with him and fight back where we can. Hopefully joining hands to do it, as there is strength in numbers. We shall overcome!


Peter Rosenstein is a longtime LGBTQ rights and Democratic Party activist.

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