I am starting a new petition as my old one will most likely fail to meet the 25,000 signature threshold by January 18, 2012. Therefore if you have signed, I ask that you please sign again. Please spread the word about this petition. I will be re-posting this everyday until the petition ends, to maximize exposure on this issue. Here are more details on my petition:
As a person who used to be bullied in middle school, I wanted to make a difference in someone's life. Therefore I created a petition asking President Obama to actively campaign and lobby Congress to pass the Student Non Discrimination Act and Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would help to prevent bullying in public schools, especially among LGBT teens. The only way to sign this petition is to click on the url link below, until the signature threshold reaches 150 signatures, then it will become visible on the White House's "We the People petition page". You will also need to create an account once you get to this site in order to sign. This petition will ultimately need 25000 signatures by January 18, 2012, in order for the White House to issue an official response. Also clicking on the link will NOT AUTOMATICALLY SIGN THE PETITION. If anyone needs help creating an account or has trouble signing, don't hesitate to facebook message me through my facebook page exclusively made for this petition or just leave a comment and I will get back to you as soon as possible. For reference the facebook page is called: "LGBT Bullying Petition to President Obama ". Finally, once you create your account, you might have to log in and out three times, as the system is a bit temperamental. Again, please spread the word to all your family and friends about this petition, I can't emphasize that enough. Thanks to everyone for all the support, it really means a great deal to me. Here is the link to the petition:
Petition to President Obama on LGBT Bullying
For more information, Here is the text of my petition, along with the links to the two pieces of legislation I mentioned previously. They could be offered as amendments to the larger re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
Dear Mr. President
In the past year the issue of bullying has come to the forefront of news coverage, due to the recent deaths of teens like Phoebe Prince, Seth Walsh, and Tyler Clementi. While it is commendable that you have made an "It Gets Better Video", and have hosted for the past two years an annual conference on bullying, more can be done. That is why we are asking you to officially endorse and work to pass two key pieces of legislation: the Student Non-Discrimination Act (HR 998/S 555) which would prohibit discrimination based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity in public schools and the Safe Schools Improvement Act (HR 1648/S. 506) would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to address and take action to prevent bullying and harassment.
Here is the link to the Student Non-Discrimination Act (this is on the Thomas search engine, of the Library of Congress, which allows one to search for information on bill in the current Congress, along with past Congresses):
S. 555- Student Non Discrimination Act
Here is the link to the Safe Schools Improvement Act:
S. 506- Safe Schools Improvement Act