Salon.com > anti-gay bullying

Faculty call for Rutgers president’s resignation over Mike Rice abuse scandal

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 18:13:00 +0000

Rutgers University faculty members and local gay rights groups are calling for an investigation into why university officials waited months before firing basketball coach Mike Rice after receiving a video showing him shoving players, throwing basketballs at them and using anti-gay slurs during verbal tirades.

Critics are also calling for the resignation of university president Robert Barchi for his "inexcusable handling" of the abuse of student athletes. As ESPN notes, the scandal "touches on two long-standing issues on campus: the role of sports and the treatment of gays":

Tennessee “Don’t Say Gay” bill dies, again

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:33:00 +0000

Tennessee lawmakers failed to pass a measure banning elementary and middle-school teachers from discussing sexual activity that is not "related to natural human reproduction” during a 2012 legislative session, only to resurrect the bill in 2013 with an even more extreme mandate.

The return of the state's "Don't Say Gay" bill included new language requiring school officials to inform parents if they suspect one of their students is gay. The measure also mandated schools to provide counseling to such students, to prevent "behavior injurious to the physical or mental health and well-being of the student or another person."

The measure died in a House Education Subcommittee on Tuesday. (Rest in peace, awful garbage hate bill!)

As reported by the Associated Press:

Indiana group fights for “gay-free” prom

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 13:54:00 +0000

After failing to ban gay teens from attending Sullivan County High School's official prom, a group of Indiana parents, students and a local teacher is fighting for a separate "traditional" prom that would keep gay kids out.

The move sparked national outrage, and now officials at the high school are trying to distance themselves from those planning the gay-free fête.

In an interview with local NBC affiliate WTWO, principal David Springer made clear that the "traditional" prom committee was an independent group and that the school had no involvement. He also said that all students will be welcome at the official prom in the Spring: "Anybody can go to the prom... Of course, a girl could go out with another girl if they didn't have a date or that was their choice."

The church that hosted the anti-gay prom organizers has also come under fire for their involvement: "Our church has no involvement in this whatsoever. It's a community thing where people have met here," Pastor Dale Wise at Sullivan First Christian Church told Indiana's WTHR.

“It Gets Better” pulls 49ers’ PSA after players deny their involvement

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:58:00 +0000

Dan Savage has pulled the San Francisco 49ers' "It Gets Better" video from the site that serves as a resource for bullied teens after two of the players involved disavowed the video, in yet another instance of Sunday's Super Bowl serving as a flash point in the ongoing debate over gay rights.

After the Baltimore Ravens' Brendon Ayanbadejo came out as an advocate for gay rights, and the 49ers' Chris Culliver said he would never play with a gay teammate, it became clear that the Ravens vs. 49ers matchup on Super Bowl Sunday had brought to football some of the debate that had swirled for years around the corporate world and the military. The 49ers' video, intended, like all "It Gets Better" videos, to inspire bullied gay teens, was treated as though it had never happened by linebacker Ahmad Brooks and nose tackle Isaac Sopoaga, indicating that even some purported allies are not interested in the debate at all.