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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ON GLBT-RELATED
BILLS IN WASHINGTON STATE LEGISLATURE:
It's been several weeks since our
last action alert and a great deal has happened as the pace of
the legislative session has quickened. Of the eight glbt-related
bills that we've been tracking (5 good, 3 bad), all have died
except for the safe schools/anti-bullying bill. They
will all automatically be reintroduced at the beginning of
next year's legislative session but in the meantime, we are
urging everyone to redouble their efforts in support of the
safe schools bill. YOUR IMMEDIATE CALLS OF SUPPORT FOR
THIS BILL WILL DRAMATICALLY HELP ITS CHANCE OF PASSAGE DURING
THIS CRITICAL PHASE.
The Senate Education committee
passed an amended version of the safe schools/anti-bullying
bill on February 21 with a vote of 8 to 1. The full
Senate passed the measure 36 to 13 on March 7. This
strong bipartisan support gives our bill a great deal of
momentum as it moves into the State House of
Representatives. There are still significant obstacles
however, and the next few days will be very critical.
Please call your representatives--especially if they serve on
the House Education Committee--and urge them to support ESSB
5528. It's easy to do and only takes a minute...the
toll-free legislative hotline is 1-800-562-6000.
The operator will help you find who your representatives are
if you don't know and will take a message for them.
Additionally, there will be a hearing on the bill at 8:00 a.m.
next Wednesday the 21st before the House Education Committee
held in House Hearing Room A of the John L O'Brien
Building. Please let me know if you plan on attending
the hearing (a good turnout would be helpful).
Although we have some concerns
about the changes that were made in committee, the bill
remains a powerful tool to reduce harassment, bullying,
intimidation and violence in our schools. This
conclusion was reached through extensive discussions both
within our own Board of Directors and allied groups and
individuals (Safe Schools Coalition, the Attorney General's
Office, the Governor's Office, Representatives Murray,
McDermott and Sharon Tomiko Santos, PFLAG leaders and many
others). The statement below which was issued this past
Wednesday reflects the broad consensus that now exists in
support of ESSB 5528 and also serves as a reminder of how
important this bill is...please call your representatives
today and urge them to support it.
Joint statement by Reps. Ed
Murray, Sharon Tomiko Santos, Joe McDermott and
Attorney General Christine Gregoire
We remain united behind the common purpose of making our
schools safer for
all students. Every citizen and parent should be alarmed at
the fact that 80
percent of our students nationwide say they've been victims of
bullying at
school, and that 7 percent of high school students each year
report being
injured or threatened with a weapon while on school grounds.
The recent fatal shooting at a high school in Santee,
California is only the
latest example in a long string of tragedies linked to
unchecked bullying.
The Senate's 36-13 vote to pass Engrossed Substitute Senate
Bill 5528, the
anti-bullying bill, is a victory for safer schools. We have
fought for years
and years to get legislation on this issue passed into law.
We are disappointed because the bill is not the one we all
supported as SB
5528, which expressly recognized that some children get
singled out for
harassment because of race, religion, disability, or sexual
orientation.
However, we are satisfied that the bill in its current form
bans all
bias-motivated harassment.
We want to be clear that any differences on the specifics of
the legislation
do not cast a shadow over our united support of the
legislation as a whole
and the goal of making sure every child in every classroom is
safe from
harassment and assault.
Fairness Lobby is a
statewide organization that advances and protects the
rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people in
Washington.
Fairness Lobby's mission is passing a statewide Gay Rights
Bill and actively
and effectively lobbying in Olympia on issues impacting gay
people and their
families.
For more information please visit our website at www.fairnesslobby.org
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