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MADem

(135,425 posts)
Fri May 11, 2012, 08:40 AM May 2012

Romney Battled LGBT Anti-Bully Commission As Governor

Well, he couldn't attack 'em and cut off their hair, so he cut off their funding instead! Whadda guy!

Mitt Romney clashed with a state commission tasked with helping LGBT youth at risk for bullying and suicide throughout his term as Massachusetts governor over funding and its participation in a pride parade. He eventually abolished the group altogether.

“We remember well what Romney tried to do as governor of Massachusetts and we now we have more info on some of his own attitudes that may have led to his policy actions,” Eliza Byard, executive director of LGBT anti-bullying organization GLSEN, told TPM, drawing a connection with reports that Romney cornered a youth in high school and cut his hair. “If he’s willing to dismiss that incident as ‘hijinks,’ I could understand that he wouldn’t understand at all why this program was so critical.”

The Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, created by Republican Gov. William Weld in 1992 in response to newly released statistics showing alarmingly high suicide rates among gay and lesbian teens, was designed to combat harassment in schools. It served at the pleasure of the state’s chief executive. The commission funded Gay Straight Alliances in high schools and provided training and information for teachers.

Romney continued its existence upon taking office, but a rift began in 2005, when he vetoed a $100,000 increase in its budget, prompting the state legislature to overturn his move and restore funding. Conservative anti-gay activists, who had mobilized in the wake of the state’s gay marriage fight, publicly opposed the commission’s budget request...


http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/05/romney-threatened-lgbt-anti-bully-commission-as-governor.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
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Romney Battled LGBT Anti-Bully Commission As Governor (Original Post) MADem May 2012 OP
As long as Romney didn't rocktivity May 2012 #1
He bullied them out of existence, the bum! MADem May 2012 #2
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