Fellow bloggers, we need help! This came from the Human Rights Campaign website:
"Del. Glenn Weatherholtz (R-Harrisonburg) has introduced a bill, HB 2868, that is intended to bar Gay Straight Alliances (GSAs) from Virginia's schools.
While stating that the bill is to prohibit the "supporting, assisting or justifying any lifestyle involving sexual behavior", Del. Weatherholtz makes the blantantly untrue assumption that Gay Straight Alliances focus on sexual activity."
What YOU can do to stop this, and what we're doing to fight this at my high school is below the fold.
If you live in Virginia, please send this to your state delegate:
"Dear [ Decision Maker ],
I am writing to you today to urge you to oppose HB 2868, patroned by Del. Glenn Weatherholtz which is intended to ban Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA) from Virginia's schools.
With anti-gay harassment, intimidation and teen on teen violence epidemic in public schools nationwide, gay straight alliances provide safe havens for gay youth and their friends to come together and provide support. Far from being a club that "promotes sex" or any sexual activity, these are simply peer support groups for a group of students in need.
Gay straight alliances also provide a much needed educational opportunity to teach the entire student body population that each student should be treated with respect and dignity. That is why there are thousands of these organizations at schools nationwide, with more being formed every year."
At my high school, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (a public school), the GSA, of which I am a member, has kicked into overdrive in our efforts to block this bill. A petition that we've been circulating had (at least) 400 signatures out of a 1700 member student body. Other high schools are also passing petitions, and we hope that by Sunday, we will have thousands of signatures that we can fax, page by page, to each and every single member of the House of Delegates. If you're a Virginia High School student who's also outraged at this effort to portray a tolerance group as one that "promotes sexual behavior," please start a petition in your school. We have word that a vote could come as soon as Monday, so please get petitions to me, via email (just scan them in), ASAP. My address is politicalwebsolutions at gmail dot com. Or, you can fax them yourself, but we'd still like it if you would tell us how many you got so that we can include you in the final tally. Virginia voters: CALL YOUR DELEGATE. This effort by the neocons to restrict the free speech of LBGTQI students, as well as their straight allies, is un-American to its core. Please help. We need you.