In The Know

Marriage Statistics
(according to Human Rights Campaign)

States that issue licenses to same-sex couples:
  • Massachusetts ('04)
  • Connecticut ('08)
  • Iowa  ('09)
  • Vermont ('09)
  • New Hampshire ('10)
  • Rhode Island* ('07)
*The law is still unclear. In December of 2007, the Rhode Island Supreme Court refused to grant a divorce to a same-sex married couple who was wed in Massachusetts.
States that recognize out of state same-sex marriage:
  • New York (2008)
  • Maryland (2010)
Map of Statewide Marriage Prohibitions:
CURRENT STATE LAWS

Click below to add your name to the petition that is fighting to repeal DOMA. DOMA is the "Defense of Marriage Act" which was signed in 1996 by Bill Clinton. It states that the fedeal government defines marriage strictly between a man and a woman.

Click here to stand up for marriage equality!

HATE CRIMES:

Bullying or harassing a LGBT kid could easily be considered a hate crime when it goes beyond speech.  These 14 states currently do NOT have any laws whatsoever addressing hate crimes based on gender identity/sexual orientation:

Alabama, Alaska, Idaho,
Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania,
South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia

State Hate Crime Laws

INFORMATION FOR PARENTS


 Struggling to ACCEPT your LGBT child? We have some information to help you understand your child's sexual orientation.

  • Homosexual behaviors have been seen in ALL human cultures, and for thousands of years.
  • It has been documented in over 500 different species.
  • Scientific evidence suggests it is a result of complex input from genes and the environment.
  • Over 16% of families have a member who is LGBT.
  • Being LGBT is NOT a phase, choice, or illness. It is simply a natural variation of the human condition, like left-handedness.
Speaking of genes...
(evidence for a genetic component):

  • Identical twins are both more likely to be gay than both fraternal twins.
  • There are genetic markers on the X chromosome that tend to be identical among pairs of homosexual brothers, but not other pairs of siblings.
  • A study conducted in Sweden found that 35% of homosexuality in men is contributed by genetics, and 18% in females.

Sources:

Hock, Roger.  Human sexuality.  Prentice Hall, 2007

Lewis, Ricki.  Human Genetics, Concepts and Applications.  McGraw-Hill Science/Engineering/Math, 2009.

LGBT Child Abuse Prevention Council

Bullying Statistics

  • 1 out of 4 teens are bullied
  • 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment at school and online.
  • As many as 160,000 students stay home on any given day because they're afraid of being bullied.
  • 1 out of 5 kids admits to being a bully, or doing some "bullying".
  • 43% fear harassment in the bathroom at school.
  • 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month.
  • 80% of the time, an argument with a bully will end up in a physical fight.
  • 1/3 of students surveyed said they heard another student threaten to kill someone.
Playground stats:

 Every 7 minutes a child is bullied
Adult intervention- 7%
Peer intervention- 11%
No intervention- 85%


Sources:
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