National
Members of Congress launch anti-bullying caucus
Lawmakers pledge to pass legislation barring student harassment
Rep. Mike Honda launches Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus (Blade photo by Michael Key)
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers led by Rep. Mike Honda (D-Calif.) launched on Thursday an anti-bullying caucus that aims to draw attention to LGBT youth and others who experience harassment.
During a news conference on Capitol Hill, Honda said lawmakers formed the Congressional Anti-Bullying Caucus, which he chairs, to carry the message against “the bullying epidemic” in schools, the workplace and assisted living facilities. Honda said stories about bullying are common among constituents of all lawmakers.
“This is going to be — from a national point of view right down to the local — a clarion call to make sure that all of us understand what this thing called bullying is,” Honda said.
Members of the caucus who spoke during the conference didn’t focus per se on the bullying of LGBT students in school — an issue that has received significant attention in recent years because of gay youths who have committed suicide after being harassed — although a few members of the caucus talked about incidents of anti-LGBT bullying in their districts.
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) said transgender people in her district have experienced violence as a result of what she described as being bullied.
“Finally, let me just say in my own district in the last few months there have been three cases of transgendered individuals who were killed, who were killed, who were killed because of their identity, because they were bullied, and this is bad,” Lee said. “I want to make sure we all recognize that it is deadly.”
Legislation pending before Congress that aims to stop bullying against LGBT students is the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would make LGBT status a protected class among students, and the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would require schools to set up anti-bullying policies. In April, President Obama endorsed both pieces of legislation.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), a former school nurse, talked about the story of Lawrence King, a gay student from California in her district, who died after being shot in 2008 by a classmate whom he asked to be his Valentine.
“His death and other similar tragedies remind us that bullying — particularly bullying directed at LGBT youth — must be stopped,” Capps said.
Capps said starting the anti-bullying caucus is “an important step,” but passage of the Safe Schools Improvement Act would be “the first thing we can do” to stop bullying.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) said she has personal interest in stopping bullying because she has a nephew, Harry Lew, who killed himself about a year ago while serving in Afghanistan as a result of hazing.
“Two of his peers punched and kicked him, forced him to do push ups and crunches wearing his heavy full-body armor and poured the entire contents of a sandbag into his face and mouth,” Chu said. “This went on for three-and-a-half hours. Harry was serving his country and was the victim of harassment, and 20 minutes after the torment stopped, he climbed into a foxhole and killed himself. He was only 21 years old.”
As of Friday, 46 U.S. House members were among its members, including Reps. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.). Four Republicans are members: Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), Charles Bass (R-N.H.), Robert Dold (R-Ill.) and Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.). Following the news conference, Honda told the Washington Blade he expects more members to sign on, but didn’t disclose any names.
Ros-Lehtinen, who has a transgender son and is a co-sponsor of many pro-LGBT bills, was among the speakers at the news conference.
“We may be from different sides of the aisle, but we all believe that it is time to stand up and stop bullying — both offline and online,” Ros-Lehtinen said. “Every American deserves to live a life that is free from persecution and harassment. No one has the right to victimize others because of their gender, or their age, or their race, or creed, ethnicity or sexual orientation.”
Also present at the news conference was Lee Hirsh, director of the 2011 documentary film “Bully,” and David and Tina Long, the parents of a child, Tyler Long, who hung himself after being bullied and whose story was told during the movie.
Tina Long, mother of Tyler Long, who committed suicide after being bullied (Blade photo by Michael Key)
Long’s eyes filled with tears as she told her story.
“There is a problem and we’re going to take care of it,” Long said. “And if it takes federal legislation to make this happen, then that’s what we have to do. … We have this opportunity, and if we don’t take it, how many more parents are going to lose their children? You never want to have to bury your child for something that is preventable.”
Only one openly gay member of Congress is a member of the caucus: Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.). Reps. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) are set to leave the U.S. House at the end of this year. Scott Fay, chief of staff for Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), said his boss will join the caucus at a later time.
Federal Government
US Census Bureau testing survey on LGBTQ households
Agency proposing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity
The U.S. Census Bureau is seeking public comment on a proposed test of sexual orientation and gender identity questions on the American Community Survey. The test would begin this summer and continue into next year.
The Census Bureau published the request as a Federal Register notice. In its press release the agency noted that the ACS is an ongoing survey that collects detailed housing and socioeconomic data. It allows the Census Bureau to provide timely and relevant housing and socioeconomic statistics, even for low levels of geography.
As part of the process for adding new questions to the ACS, the Census Bureau tests potential questions to evaluate the quality of the data collected.
The Census Bureau proposes testing questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to meet the needs of other federal agencies that have expressed interest in or have identified legal uses for the information, such as enforcing civil rights and equal employment measures.
The test would follow the protocols of the actual ACS — with one person asked to respond to the survey on behalf of the entire household. These particular questions are asked about people 15 years of age or older. Households are invited to respond to the survey online, by paper questionnaire or by phone.
The current Federal Register notice gives the public a final opportunity to provide feedback before the Census Bureau submits its recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget for approval. The public may provide feedback through May 30 online.
The White House
Judy Shepard to receive Presidential Medal of Freedom
Nancy Pelosi is also among this year’s honorees
Beloved LGBTQ advocate Judy Shepard is among the 19 honorees who will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the U.S., the White House announced on Friday.
The mother of Matthew Shepard, who was killed in 1998 in the country’s most notorious anti-gay hate crime, she co-founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation with her husband Dennis to raise awareness about anti-LGBTQ violence.
The organization runs education, outreach, and advocacy programs, many focused on schools.
In a statement shared via the Human Rights Campaign, Shepard said, “This unexpected honor has been very humbling for me, Dennis, and our family. What makes us proud is knowing our President and our nation share our lifelong commitment to making this world a safer, more loving, more respectful, and more peaceful place for everyone.
“I am grateful to everyone whose love and support for our work through the years has sustained me.
“If I had the power to change one thing, I can only dream of the example that Matt’s life and purpose would have shown, had he lived. This honor reminds the world that his life, and every life, is precious.”
Shepard was instrumental in working with then-President Barack Obama for passage of the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009, which was led in the House by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who will also be honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom during the ceremony on Friday.
Also in 2009, Shepard published a memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” and was honored with the Black Tie Dinner Elizabeth Birch Equality Award.
“Judy Shepard has been a champion for equality and President Biden’s choice to honor her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom is a testament to what she’s done to be a force of good in the world,” HRC President Kelley Robinson said in a statement.
“A mother who turned unspeakable grief over the loss of her son into a decades-long fight against anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and violence, Judy continues to make a lasting impact in the lives of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.
“It is because of her advocacy that the first federal hate crimes legislation became law and that countless life-saving trainings, resources and conversations about equality and acceptance are provided each year by the Matthew Shepard Foundation,” Robinson said. “We are honored that Judy is a member of the HRC family and know that her work to create a more inclusive and just world will only continue.”
Other awardees who will be honored by the White House this year are: Actor Michelle Yeoh, entrepreneur and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Jesuit Catholic priest Gregory Boyle, Assistant House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), former Labor and Education Secretary and former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), journalist and former daytime talkshow host Phil Donahue, World War II veteran and civil rights activist Medgar Evers (posthumous), former Vice President Al Gore, civil rights activist and lawyer Clarence B. Jones, former Secretary of State and U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), former U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) (posthumous), Olympic swimmer Katie Ledecky, educator and activist Opal Lee, astronaut and former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Ellen Ochoa, astronomer Jane Rigby, United Farm Workers President Teresa Romero, and Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe (posthumous).
National
United Methodist Church removes 40-year ban on gay clergy
Delegates also voted for other LGBTQ-inclusive measures
The United Methodist Church on Wednesday removed a ban on gay clergy that was in place for more than 40 years, voting to also allow LGBTQ weddings and end prohibitions on the use of United Methodist funds to “promote acceptance of homosexuality.”
Overturning the policy forbidding the church from ordaining “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” effectively formalized a practice that had caused an estimated quarter of U.S. congregations to leave the church.
The New York Times notes additional votes “affirming L.G.B.T.Q. inclusion in the church are expected before the meeting adjourns on Friday.” Wednesday’s measures were passed overwhelmingly and without debate. Delegates met in Charlotte, N.C.
According to the church’s General Council on Finance and Administration, there were 5,424,175 members in the U.S. in 2022 with an estimated global membership approaching 10 million.
The Times notes that other matters of business last week included a “regionalization” plan, which gave autonomy to different regions such that they can establish their own rules on matters including issues of sexuality — about which international factions are likelier to have more conservative views.
Rev. Kipp Nelson of St. Johns’s on the Lake Methodist Church in Miami shared a statement praising the new developments:
“It is a glorious day in the United Methodist Church. As a worldwide denomination, we have now publicly proclaimed the boundless love of God and finally slung open the doors of our church so that all people, no matter their identities or orientations, may pursue the calling of their hearts.
“Truly, all are loved and belong here among us. I am honored to serve as a pastor in the United Methodist Church for such a time as this, for our future is bright and filled with hope. Praise be, praise be.”
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Comings & Goings
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