A newly introduced bill aims to protect public school students from sexuality-based discrimination across the United States. In a move supported by LGBT campaigners and the American Civil Liberties Union, US Democrats Al Franken and Jared Polis have joined forces to bring the Student Non-Discrimination Bill to both the Senate and the House of Representatives. American students are currently protected from discrimination based on race, gender, religion, disability or nationality. The federal bill, if passed, will add sexual orientation to that list — and includes harassment “based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity”. This initiative follows controversies such as recent action to prevent students from starting a gay-straight alliance. A Texas school responded to the attempted start-up by banning all extracurricular clubs.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 14th March 2011 - 11:08pm