Justice Department Intervenes In Gay Rights Suit For The First Time In A Decade

[FourScore]

Justice Department Intervenes In Gay Rights Suit For The First Time In A Decade

For the first time in a decade, the Justice Department intervened in a gay rights suit. In August, an openly gay 14-year-old student named Jacob — with the help of the ACLU — sued the Mohawk Central School District in upstate New York because officials “did not appropriately respond to relentless harassment, physical abuse and threats of violence” that Jacob received because of his sexual orientation. NPR reported on some of the harassment to which Jacob alleges he was subjected:

Long before Jacob came out of the closet at age 14, he was harassed for being effeminate. According to court papers, kids threw food at him and told him to get a sex change. One student pulled out a knife and threatened to string Jacob up the flagpole. A teacher allegedly told Jacob to “hate himself every day until he changed.”

One day, Jacob came home from school limping. That evening, he called his father from a party and said he had sprained his ankle at the party.

Sullivan described taking his son to the hospital: “It was a really bad sprain. They put a cast on it, gave him crutches. And shortly after that, I found out that it didn’t happen at the party. It happened at the school, because somebody had pushed him down the stairs.”

Over two years, Sullivan went to his son’s school three or four times a week to talk with the principal. According to court papers, officials did nothing.

The Justice Department is citing Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which protects people against gender discrimination — in its Motion to Intervene. However, the Obama administration is relying on a “broad reading” of Title IX, arguing that “the law also covers discrimination based on gender stereotypes.” In the Motion, the Justice Department argues that the Mohawk District officials also violated the Equal Protection Clause. On Jan. 7, the Assistant Attorney General authorized the federal government’s invention “by certifying that this is a case of general public importance.” Conservative lawyers are arguing against the Obama administration’s approach, saying that it is “making up a legal violation where there hasn’t been one.”

Under Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder, the Justice Department has had a dramatically different focus than it did during President Bush’s terms. While the Bush Justice Department was focused on installing political cronies, going after mythical voter fraud cases, and the suppression of minority voters while looking out for the voter disenfranchisement of whites. The Obama Justice Department, by contrast, recently announced that it would also start aggressively going after “banks and mortgage brokers suspected of discriminating against minority applicants in lending.”

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/01/16/doj-gay-rights/

[midnight]

1. Ok legal minds, can you answer if this WONDERFUL emphasis by President Obama's

justice dept. interpretation covers the prevention of discrimination of any kind. I wonder about those who are differently abled being discriminated because they perform differently because of being in pain. "The Justice Department is citing Title IX of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 — which protects people against gender discrimination — in its Motion to Intervene. However, the Obama administration is relying on a “broad reading” of Title IX, arguing that “the law also covers discrimination based on gender stereotypes.”

I hope this brave young man's case does become the turning point in America when we say no more of this will be tolerated...

[dsc]

3. the differently abled don't have to rely on that

they have their own civil rights law (the ADA).

[TheWraith]

2. Kicked and recommended. nt

[dsc]

4. kudos on Obama

but this story breaks my heart. It speaks to the utter failure of adult gays to protect our children from this harrassment by not passing laws to explicitly forbid it coupled with our understandable fears of being accused of recruiting children. The fact is people my age can tell you stories of similar abuse due to our being gay while growing up. I hope that poor kid is OK but from experience I know he likely isn't.

[ThomCat]

5. This story shows how hard it can be for an LGBT kid to survive

under the care and supervision of straight adults who don't care.

Yet I'll bet those adults will insist that they aren't homophobic. Somehow, they never, ever think they are.

And, I'll bet that if we could interview the adults they would come up with reasons to blame this kid for violence against him. Somehow he caused it all.

I'll bet they would also say they don't tolerate bullying of any kind whenever they see it too.

How often have any of us been through this song and dance and/or seen others go through it?

:cry:

I have a friend going to a community college in that town. She's is a young lesbian who has even posted here at DU a number of times. I'm going to have to call her and ask what the locals are hearing or saying. :(

[dsc]

7. all too often that is for sure.

I would be interested in local reaction as well.

[Political Heretic]

6. Kick for a rare bit of good news from the Justice Department