In a statement on student safety, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan mentioned the Day of Silence, and specifically an 11-year-old boy who committed suicide due to anti-gay bullying:
Yesterday, many Americans paused to remember the senseless death of 32 students at Virginia Tech in 2007. Today, many Americans will honor the Day of Silence called for on behalf of victims of harassment and bullying around issues of sexual orientation, including a recent suicide who would have turned 12 today. On Monday, we will memorialize the Columbine High School victims from a decade ago. Through these painful remembrances, we must all acknowledge our collective role and responsibility in preventing student deaths and ensuring that our schools and universities remain safe havens of learning.
Like the inclusion of gay families in the White House Easter Roll, this is a small step, but one that shows the White House is not overlooking the rights and protection of the LGBT community.
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Thank you for pointing this out to me – I had no idea this statement had been made.
You're right, it's a small step, but in a way it shows something very big – that the LGBT community is a part of American society, not different, not outcasted – deaths in one demographic are no different from deaths in any other. I'm really tired and I'm not being eloquent at ALL, but I guess what I'm trying to say is we're all people, no one's more special than anyone else, cliches like that.
April 21, 2009 at 8:29 pmI am little curious to know more about it……………..
April 29, 2009 at 6:36 amHave something to add?