URGENT: Stop Romney's veto of LGBT suicide-prevention programs

[Ian David]

Cross-posted in Massachusetts forum and GLBT forum:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=158&topic_id=5553&mesg_id=5553
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=221&topic_id=13764&mesg_id=13764


The anti-gay hategroup Article 8 Alliance sent out an alert today.

It seems Romney vetoed money for gay rights protections for public school students.

The Mass. legislature is set to over-ride Romney's veto, and the anti-gay hate group doesn't want to see that happen.

So, thanking them for the heads-up, let's all call the Mass. legislature and ask them to over-turn Romney's veto.

Protect the rights of gay and lesbian children in Mass. public schools.


EVERY ONE OF YOU NEEDS TO MAKE A PHONE CALL RIGHT NOW!


Rep. Robert DeLeo, Chairman of House Ways and Means Committee

edit: Article 8 Alliance gave an incorrect phone number. The correct number is listed below:

Office: 617-722-2990
Home: 617-846-3612


Tell him to override the Governor's veto of the money for these important gay-rights and student protection programs

Budget items 4590-0250 and 7010-0005.



Related news:

Mass. Gov. Vetoes Gay Commission Raise
Gov. Romney votoed a proposed 40 percent raise for a publicly funded gay and lesbian program. Christian leaders say all funding should be cut.

Monday, Jul. 4, 2005 Posted: 8:08:29AM EST

Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney vetoed a proposal to raise 40 percent of public funding allocated for gay and lesbian youth programs Thursday. However, some Christian educators are saying that is not enough.

“I’m disappointed that the governor wasn’t willing to stop the funding completely,” said Fin Laursen, Executive Director of Christian Educators Assoc. In'tl. (CEAI).

The funds are earmarked by the Massachusetts Departments of Health and Education for the Governor's Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth (GCGLY).

GCGLY was created in 1992 in response to a slew of suicide among gay and lesbian youth. Its main role is to create school and community-based programs focusing on suicide prevention, violence intervention, and the promotion of zero-tolerance policies regarding harassment and discrimination against gay and lesbian youth.

More:
http://www.christianpost.com/article/education/877/section/mass.gov.vetoes.gay.commission.raise/1.htm

[Zenlitened]

1. Do a Google search on this and you'll see that the right-wingers...

... are all over this. They are sharpening their fangs over the prospect of winning some sort of conservative political "victory" -- by sacraficing the lives of troubled teens. Sick, sick horrible people.

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=romney+veto+gay&ie=UTF-8&scoring=d

Mass. Governor Nixes Pro-Homosexual Use of Taxpayers' Money
Agape Press, MS - Jul 6, 2005
... has actually stood up and vetoed money publicly for the gay activists in ... is not over yet, noting the Legislature may still attempt to override Romney's veto. ...

Massachusetts pro-family movement applauds Gov. Mitt Romney
MichNews.com, MI - Jul 4, 2005
... in the schools, but legislature still gave gay activists more ... isn’t over; legislature may try to override veto. ... Mitt Romney for vetoing a 70% increase in ...

Mass. Gov. Vetoes Gay Commission Raise
Christian Post, CA - Jul 4, 2005
... However, Romney vetoed the bill, saying he saw no need to ... Action Committee of Mass and targeted for gay men men ... to demand the governor to veto the entire funds ...

Romney trims, signs budget
The Republican, MA - Jul 1, 2005
... Romney said he didn't see a need to raise ... of Springfield, a lobbyist for the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian ... tourism, said it makes no sense to veto money for ...

Governor's vetoes raise more questions on national run
Boston Globe, MA - Jun 30, 2005
... And local gay rights opponents were publicly urging Romney to veto the extra money lawmakers wanted to spend on the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian ...

Conservative Groups Demand Mass. Gov. Veto Bill Giving Money To ...
365Gay.com - Jun 30, 2005
... Mitt Romney to veto legislation that ... Last week the legislature approved giving $425,000 to the Governor's Commission for Gay and Lesbian Youth (GCGLY). ...

Romney takes aim with veto pen
Boston Globe, MA - Jun 29, 2005
... to gay marriage around the country, Romney has been careful to note that he does not condone discrimination against gays and lesbians. Romney's veto of the $15 ...

Mass. anti-gays strive to cut funding for tolerant school policies ...
Good As You (satire) - Jun 29, 2005
... prolific "pro-family" groups, is DEMANDING that Governor Mitt Romney veto items in the state's 2006 budget that would provide funding to gay-friendly programs ...

Mass. Group Demands Romney Roll Back Pro-Homosexual Program ...
Agape Press, MS - Jun 29, 2005
... is calling on the state's governor to veto the increase. ... a group that works with the Gay, Lesbian, and ... 8 Alliance, is calling on Governor Mitt Romney to nix ...

[Zenlitened]

2. Find your elected officials:

Enter ZIP code +4 and choose federal state or local:

http://capwiz.com/hrc/dbq/officials/

[Ian David]

3. Apparently we have to talk to the House, not the Senate right now

I called Rep. Christine Canavan's office and left a message.

I called Creedon's office (I always call him Cretin... heh heh) and his staffer told me that the Senate can't over-ride anything until the House does.

He also told me that Cretin (I mean, Creedon) voted to fund this in the first place and could be counted on to over-ride any veto of something he already voted for.

[Zenlitened]

6. Yep, I e-mailed my Rep. earlier this morning. No reply yet.

He's one of the skunks whop voted to make discrimination a part of our state constitution.

My Senator, fortunately, is one of the good guys. Believes in Liberty and Justice for (gasp!) ALL.

[ck4829]

4. Kick'd and Rec'd

[Ian David]

5. What the Article 8 Alliance has to say about this...

It hardly ever gets much uglier than this!

<snip>

This budget item, among funding for the Department of Education, gives the GCGLY an additional $75,000. Note that it's even more insidious: it legally instructs them to create "suicide prevention" and "anti-violence" programs. These are the code-words for forcing pro-homosexual programs into schools against the will of administrators. If school officials resist, they're "helping kids kill themselves." In fact, these so-called suicide prevention programs have no legitimate medical or psychological basis; they are simply put together by homosexual activists to normalize homosexuality in the minds of kids. A few years back, gay activists pressured the State Board of Education into adopting these "recommendations" for schools.

More:
http://www.article8.org/docs/news_events/budget_2006/budget_items.htm






Gay Male and Lesbian Suicide
By Paul Gibson L.C.S.W., Therapist and Program Consultant, San Francisco, California
Reprinted from WeAreFamily

Contents:


SUMMARY

Gay and lesbian youth belong to two groups at high risk of suicide: youth and homosexuals. A majority of suicide attempts by homosexuals occur during their youth, and gay youth are 2 to 3 times more likely to attempt suicide than other young people. They may comprise up to 30 percent of completed youth suicides annually. The earlier youth are aware of their orientation and identify themselves as gay, the greater the conflicts they have. Gay youth face problems in accepting themselves due to internalization of a negative self image and the lack of accurate information about homosexuality during adolescence. Gay youth face extreme physical and verbal abuse, rejection and isolation from family and peers. They often feel totally alone and socially withdrawn out of fear of adverse consequences. As a result of these pressures, lesbian and gay youth are more vulnerable than other youth to psychosocial problems including substance abuse, chronic depression, school failure, early relationship conflicts, being forced to leave their families, and having to survive on their own prematurely. Each of these problems presents a risk factor for suicidal feelings and behavior among gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual youth.


<snip>

Statistical Profile

There is a high rate of suicidality among lesbians and gay men. Jay and Young found that 40 percent of gay males and 39 percent of lesbians surveyed had either attempted or seriously contemplated suicide (1). Bell and Weinberg similarly found that 35 percent of gay males and 38 percent of lesbians in their study had either seriously considered or attempted suicide (2). Homosexuals are far more likely to attempt suicide than are heterosexuals. A majority of these attempts take place in their youth. Bell and Weinberg found that 25 percent of lesbians and 20 percent of gay men had actually attempted suicide. Gay males were 6 times more likely to make an attempt then heterosexual males. Lesbians were more than twice as likely to try committing suicide than the heterosexual women in the study. A majority of the suicide attempts by homosexuals took place at age 20 or younger with nearly one-third occurring before age 17.

<snip>

Gay and lesbian youth have been a hidden population within the adolescent and young adult age group. Those programs and studies able to document suicidality in gay youth have found they have a high rate of suicidal feelings and behavior that places them at substantially greater risk of taking their own lives compared to other youth (See Appendix A). Statistics from the Institute for the Protection of Gay and Lesbian Youth in New York, the University of Minnesota Adolescent Health Program in Minneapolis, Roesler and Deisher in Seattle, and the Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center consistently show that 20-35 percent of gay youth interviewed have made suicide attempts (4,5,6,7). Statistics from Minneapolis, Los Angeles and San Francisco find that more than 50 percent of gay youth experience suicidality including serious depression and suicidal feelings (5,7,8). The Larkin Street Youth Center in San Francisco found that among their client population of homeless youth, 65 percent of homosexual/bisexual youth compared to 19 percent of heterosexual youth reported ever being suicidal, and that gay youth had a rate of suicidality nearly 3.5 times greater than other youth (8). The Los Angeles Suicide Prevention Center in preliminary data from an unpublished study, found that the suicide attempt rate for gay youth is more than 3 times higher than that of heterosexual youth; their rate of suicidality is more than twice that of other youth (7).


More:
http://www.lambda.org/youth_suicide.htm

[ck4829]

7. Have these fools ever heard of abstinence education and intelligent design

?

[Ian David]

8. Help our LGBT Youth!

Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2005
From: Freedom to Marry Coalition of MA <[e-mail]>
Subject: Help our GLBT Youth

Before Massachusetts was the leader in marriage equality, it was
a leader in safe schools for GLBT students.

Last week, Gov. Romney vetoed the budget increases for the
Governor's Commission on Gay & Lesbian Youth's Safe Schools
Program. He also deleted the mandate that directs the Department
of Education to ensure protection of GLBT youth in public
schools. If the Romney's stands, public schools will no longer
be held responsible for the safety of our children in the public
schools.

Massachusetts youth have been with us in the fight for marriage
equality. They came out in droves to stand by us and chant the
songs of liberty and justice during last year's Constitutional
Convention. They continue to volunteer for equality and raise
awareness in their communities.

Now we must stand with our youth to defend safe schools for all
students.

Representatives Alice Wolf and Liz Malia, who sponsored the
original budget increases, have drafted a letter to House
Speaker DiMasi calling for an override the Governor's anti-gay
vetoes and mandate removal. Over 20 representatives have signed
the letter, but we need many more to stand up for our gay youth.


Please call your state representative as soon as possible and
ask her/him to support the overrides by signing on to Reps. Wolf
and Malia's letter. When you call, ask them to support:

* Restoring the Safe Schools funding in lines 4590-0250 and
7010-0005
* Restoring the language mandating the DOE to protect gay
student safety
* Reps. Wolf and Malia's letter by signing onto it

Your support for LGBT teen safety is crucial. State and national
anti-gay organizations fighting gay marriage are now targeting
and attacking gay youth. They are determined to turn back the
clock and force schools to follow their radical anti-gay agenda.
We must stop them now.

Please contact your representative today.

Sincerely,

Maggie Crowley
Youth and Student Coordinator
Freedom to Marry Coalition of Massachusetts

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
Freedom to Marry Coalition of MA at:

http://ga4.org/equalmarriage/join.html?r=SdzSEM41JmdgE

***************************************
Powered by GetActive Software, Inc.
Member Relationship Management Solutions
That Recruit, Engage, and Retain (tm)
http://www.getactive.com
***************************************

[More Than A Feeling]

9. Even people who think that to be gay is a sin

should applaud suicide prevention, which from what I know of their worldview, would stop a greater sin(suicide). That is if they weren't being sinners themselves in their determination to try to make themselves more secure by oppressing others. That is the worse than either of the other two. (Information regarding the Christian worldview learned from Reinhold Niebuhr's Nature and Destiny of Man)