silencing effect

Today marks the 17th annual Day of Silence, where LGBT students and allies sustain a vow of silence calling attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. A record 8,000 schools are participating, but that doesn't mean every student knows how it works, or what it all means. The Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network, or GLSEN, has been helping schools and students organize the Day of Silence for more than a decade. With their help, thousands of students have learned about the effects of bullying. Here are a few things to know about today's festivities.

Following a White House screening of the documentary Bully, President Obama endorsed both the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act. The president made the announcement on Friday, the 17th annual Day of Silence, where LGBT students and allies sustain a vow of non-verbal communication to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools.

Students across the country are reporting a mix of positive and negative reactions to the annual in-school protest known as the Day of Silence, honoring those who have been bullied for not fitting in. Led by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, the Day of Silence has evolved over the years as students can report in real time about any resistance or negativity from teachers and their peers.

The anti-LGBT group Focus on the Family organized the event in response to GLSEN's 'sexual activism in classrooms.'

Lambda Legal has filed suit on behalf of a 16-year-old lesbian student in Florida after the school suspended her for participating in the annual Day of Silence last year.

I walked into a conversation this afternoon about the latest LGBT bullying related suicide. I quickly found out that it was a Minnesota teen who died on Saturday morning. With these basic facts, my mind immediately went on high alert. I grew up in Minnesota -- I know plenty of young people who live there.

Morgana Bailey was closeted for 16 years, until she read an article in The Advocate that opened her eyes to the cost of her silence.

With four debates, and hours worth of questions and answers, the words "gay" or "lesbian" never broke through. The closest anyone ever came to bringing up LGBT issues came during the first debate when President Obama listed repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy among accomplishments he said were made on behalf of the middle class. But DADT wasn't raised during Monday's last debate, which focused on foreign policy, despite its effect on the military.

Gen. Colin Powell issued a statement Wednesday supporting the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," changing his long-standing stance on the policy. The 17-year old policy encouraging the quieting of gays and lesbians in the military is up for a long overdue review. Powell announced that he will join Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in the effort to repeal DADT.

Spain's only openly lesbian politician asked her fellow closeted officials to come out at Madrid's annual Day of Lesbian Visibility on April 26.

Leigh Hendrix's "How to be a Lesbian in 10 Days or Less" cancelled after State Senator claims it was 'recruiting' lesbians

This week, we're outraged about lawmakers in Louisiana, Utah, Arizona, and Brunei who insist on making it even harder for LGBT people to live and love as they want.

When preachers pontificate toomuch from on High about the sins of homosexual sex, the cautionary tale is to be careful of what you say, because your words invariable will come back to bite you, as we are seeing with Bishop Eddie Long. Sadly, however, Long, like too many African American ministers on the "down low," has erected his bully pulpit denouncing gays while using his clerical authority to court and to covet them.

This month a fight broke out across the blogosphere. Conservatives complained that the so-called liberal media had ignored the case of illegal abortion provider Dr. Kermit Gosnell prior to his trial, which began in Philadelphia on March 18. The assertion was that there had been a conspiracy of silence.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's plans to take marriage equality directly to the state supreme court don't match a recent court decision on the issue.

Homophobia is part and parcel of male professional sports. Gay epithets are so pervasive among players that they are sadly totally unaware of the weight and meaning of the terms.