Week of October 1
Last week the U.S. Department of Education released a new two-part training toolkit to help combat bullying.
This free kit is designed for use by teachers and educators and provides them with the skills and knowledge necessary to intervene during instances of bullying and to de-escalate threatening behaviors in classrooms.
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Over the weekend California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law several new bills that benefit the LGBTQ community.
The bills include ensuring women in same-sex relationships have equal access to fertility services, requiring that anyone seeking to become a foster parent must undergo “instruction on cultural competency and sensitivity relating to, and best practices for, providing adequate care” to LGBT young people, and a limit on licensed therapists ability to offer “ex-gay” therapy to minors.
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GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) released their annual “Where We Are on TV” report on Friday. The report found that 4.4% of series regular characters during the 2012-2013 television season are LGBT characters. This is the highest ever level of LGBT characters on TV.
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The National Center for Transgender Equality has launched a new campaign called Voting While Trans.
These new resources focuses on making sure transgender Americans are not denied the right to vote because of their identities.
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Featherweight boxer Orlando Cruz came out as gay this week.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican native told the USA Today: “I’ve been fighting for more than 24 years and as I continue my ascendant career, I want to be true to myself. I want to try to be the best role model I can be for kids who might look into boxing as a sport and a professional career.”
He later went on to note, “I have and will always be a proud Puerto Rican. I have always been and always will be a proud gay man.”
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