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My name is Karen Loewy, and I am an attorney with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
It's never okay for a school administrator to say to a student who comes to that administrator saying "I've been harrassed, I've been bullied,"
to say, "Oh well, boys will be boys..." "you know, these things are just a part of growing up..." "grow a tougher skin..." "stop acting so gay..."
"stop being who you are..." "you're bringing this on yourself...". Those are not okay responses. It is the school's obligation to keep you safe.
and you have tools that you can use, that the law gives you to advocate. You can remind the school
that it is their job to respond to harassment based on *** orientation, based on gender identity or expression,
or even because the people who are harassing you might think you might be LGBT. It is the school's obligation to respond to that kind of harassment the same way they respond to every other kind of harassment.
It's their job to keep you safe.
Hi, my name is Jamal Brown, and I'm a Legal Assistant at GLAD.
For much of my life, I knew that there was something different. I knew that I was gay, but I didn't have a word for it.
However, I knew that what I was, what I am, wasn't socially acceptable. I knew that it was immoral, or at least immoral based on what I was told,
and what I was to believe about myself, my identity. And I tried so hard, each and every day, to mask myself, to silence, to hide any trace of me being gay.
My teammates knew that I wasn't like them. They knew that I was different, and they took advantage of that
there were times when I was called a sissy, I was called ***, I was called ***, I was called gay, and
that had such a deep impact on me that I struggled at times to love myself. I struggled to the extent that I did have suicidal thoughts
and I almost got to that point where I didn't want to live.
I had to hold on and I held on to that ounce of--one last ounce of courage, and hope.
And that's what I'm asking you to do, to hold on to that last ounce of that last bit of hope and love for yourself.
To keep moving because at the end of the day, it will get better. I'm living proof.
that it does get better, because you get stronger.
There are people out there just like you, who experience this, or hav e experienced this
and are waiting for you to get to that point, want for you to get to that point where you love yourself so that they can join you
and they can be there for you. You will get there, you can do it.
and they can be there for you. You will get there, you can do it.
I'm Robbie Samuels, special events manager at GLAD,
and things have definitely gotten better. I couldn't have imagined my life
would be as good as it is today.
When I was twenty years old, I was really lost, and confused, and overwhelmed by life.
And now, here at 36, it's just such a wonderful thing to be surrounded by community and friends.
Hi, I'm Jennifer Levi, and I'm the director of the Transgender Rights Project at Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
1977, I was 12 years old, and living in Miami Beach, Florida.
January that year, Date county passed a gay rights law.
I didn't really know much about it at the time, but shortly afterwards, Anita Bryant began her Save Our Children campaign.
and my life changed. In school, classmates and children talked about the immorality of the so-called gay lifestyle
and how terrible it would be to be gay. It was particularly hard to hear that at a time when I was just beginning to develop a sense of who I was.
And even though I didn't have any of the language at the time, I suspected that I was a lesbian
and that I was transgendered. And so hearing it--all of the terrible things about being gay--in the school, made it really very difficult
and I remember one teacher in particular, talking about how we were going to go to hell.
And it was bad, and it was wrong. And I heard other students cheering her on, and it felt pretty terrible.
It felt terrible because of the sense I had of who I was. But more than that,
as well, there was a secret in my house, which is that my dad was gay.
In June of 1977, the gay rights law was repealed by a 2-1 margin.
And I remember my father taking me to a rally that was, it was hoped would be a victory rally, but it wasn't
and I just remember crying at the time and being with a whole group of people who were crying and sad
and I was wearing this orange T-shirt that said 'A day without human rights is like a day without sunshine.'
And, candidly, it got worse, it got worse because the whisper campaigns got louder,
and kids would make fun of other kids in the school, and there were teachers who we all suspected were gay, and they were made fun of.
And I am not proud to say it, but a lot of us just got quieter, and took it, and didn't know what to do.
But it does get better, and it got better for me.
It got better as soon as I really got out of that school. And now, I get to represent gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered people
I can proudly stand in front of a judge, and say that it's wrong--it's wrong for kids to pick on other kids, and there's laws that protect us.
And judges can confirm all of those points, and so it gets better, it really gets much better.
But I do want to say, it can be really dark. During some of those times,
but it gets better, it absolutely gets better.
My name is Ruthie, I'm GLAD's webmaster, and I'm seeing it get better.
Hi, my name is Eva Boyce, I'm the Chief Financial Officer at GLAD, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
and I have two jobs, really, I'm a mom. And that's a job that I'll have for the rest of my life
and my son is 26 years old, he's grown, but I worry about him constantly, I want to make sure that he's safe,
and that's really the most important thing to me as a mom--my son's safety, knowing that he can come to me, if he needs to, for help.
So if you are watching this and you are a young person, you may be younger than my son, you may be older,
and you are experiencing any bullying, or any harm, or don't feel safe, it's really important that you let someone know
because we need you here. I certainly would be devastated if anything happened to my son.
If you're being bullied, or harassed at school, you're not alone.
And you can take action. GLAD's Legal InfoLine can help--it's free, and confidential.
We're here Monday to Friday, from 1:30 to 4:30. We take calls in english, y hablamos espa_nol
y estamos aqui para ayudarte. You have rights
and we are here to make sure that you know what they are. We provide you with options. We connect you with resources.
GLAD works in the 6 New England states, but we help anyone who calls us. You can make it better right now. Call us! Llamanos!