Fighting Anti-Gay Bullying and Achieving Dignity for All Students

New York Gov. David Paterson has the perfect way to commemorate National Suicide Prevention Week. How's he doing it? By signing into law a piece of legislation known as the Dignity For All Students Act. It's goal? To protect students in New York's public school system from bullying and harassment, with explicit protections indicated for sexual orientation and gender identity. Booyeah.

It's no secret that toxic school climates can lead to disastrous outcomes for LGBT students, as well as those students perceived as LGBT. In the span of the past few years, children as young as 11 have taken their own lives because of teasing and taunting they've received in schools because bullies see them as LGBT. It's happened in Massachusetts. In Georgia. In Ohio. In Minnesota. And all throughout the country, with statistics showing that more than half of all LGBT students in the U.S. face harassment in schools. As a result, suicide rates for LGBT students are four times as high as they are for heterosexual classmates.

The signing of today's law by Gov. Paterson moves New York one step closer to making sure it's schools are safe spaces for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Indeed, the Dignity for All Students Act becomes the first statewide piece of legislation to ever include gender identity protections, a huge victory for transgender students in the state.

Rea Carey, the head of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), noted that legislation like this is needed in order to make sure school isn't a deadly and dangerous place for students.

"For some young people, going to school is tantamount to a daily dose of torture. In too many cases, harassment, taunting and abuse are allowed to go on unabated in our nation’s schools. We have repeatedly seen the tragic consequences of this pervasive problem: young people are left emotionally damaged, physically hurt, or feel they have no other option than to take their own lives out of hopelessness and despair," Carey said. "We applaud the Dignity for All Students Act Coalition and other advocates who worked so tirelessly on this issue; state lawmakers for passing this legislation; and Gov. David Paterson for signing it into law. Safe schools for our young people should be the rule, not the exception."

Indeed, that's why groups like NGLTF and the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN) are pushing federal level legislation, known as the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would attempt to make all public schools throughout the country safe spaces for students, and work to create a culture within the classroom where anti-gay bullying is not only condemned, but eliminated outright.

The Safe Schools Improvement Act has been finally introduced in the U.S. Senate. You can lend your support for this bill here.

And here's a toast to Gov. David Paterson. He's had a rocky ride as governor of New York, but there's no denying that part of his legacy will be marked by making sure all New York students, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, are protected.

Photo credit: Governor David A. Paterson