April 24, 2008

Baldwin Resolution Honors National Day of Silence

April 23, 2008 — Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin today called on colleagues in the House to recognize this year’s National Day of Silence to be held on April 25th. The annual National Day of Silence is a day in which students take a vow of silence to bring attention to the anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) name-calling, bullying, and harassment faced by individuals in schools, including students, teachers, and other school staff. The Day of Silence is coordinated nationally by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). An estimated 500,000 students from nearly 5,000 junior and high schools in all 50 states and Puerto Rico have participated in the National Day of Silence in past years and more than 6,000 schools have registered this year.

In remarks on the House floor this morning, Congresswoman Baldwin told her colleagues, “This year’s event will be held in memory of Lawrence King, a California 8th-grader who was shot and killed Feb. 12 by a classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Larry’s death is an unnecessary reminder of what we already know: lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students continue to face pervasive harassment and victimization in schools. As students use their silence to demand schools are safe for all students, it is my hope that we in Congress will use our voices to ensure that it be so.

GLSEN reports startling statistics:

• More than 80 percent of LGBT students have been verbally harassed;

• Nearly 20 percent of LGBT students were physically assaulted by their peers at school because their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression;

• Almost 40 percent of LGBT students reported that faculty and staff never intervene when homophobic language is used in their presence;

• Nearly 30 percent of LGBT students reported missing at least one entire school day in the last month because they felt unsafe.

Reps. Baldwin (D-WI), Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Lois Capps (D-CA) have sponsored a resolution (H Con Res 328) supporting the goals and ideals of the National Day of Silence. Baldwin said Congressional support sends a strong signal that harassment and hate crimes will not be tolerated in our schools and in our communities.

Posted by: Sapphocrat

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