KISS OFF: Gay Kiss Prompts Football Players to Walk Out of High School Musical!

A group of students, mostly male athletes, walked out of a Hartford High School production of Zanna Don't after a gay kiss made them uncomfortable, CBS Connecticut reports:

 

Zanna Don’t!” depicts life at the fictitious Heartsville High, where students with academically-charged interests sit atop the popularity echelon while football players are the outcasts, and heterosexuals must conceal their sexual preference to avoid public scrutiny.

During the show, two men in the cast share a brief kiss — a lip lock that became a great point of contention.

“There was a public walkout by a bunch of students (when the kiss happened) … mostly male,” [Adam Johnson, principal of the Government and Law Academy] said. “It was visually evident (due to the jerseys the team was wearing) that a lot of football players got up and walked out. It was almost a symbolic kind of thing.”

DISGUSTING: Pennsylvania Professor Humiliates Lesbian in Class!

Christina Santiago, a student at Eberly College of Business and Information Technology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania says she was attacked and humiliated in front of her classroom because she is a lesbian.

During a discussion that turned to homosexuality, her business professor, who has not been identified, called it "disgusting, unnatural, and abnormal" and when Santiago identified herself as a lesbian he told her that the words applied to her. The teacher continued, telling her that "God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Adam.

Santiago's instructor complained about voluntary diversity training and said that students like Santiago were forcing their sexuality on him.

An investigation is underway and students have held at least one rally in support of Santiago.

STOP: Bullied Gay Ottawa Teen Jamie Hubley Commits Suicide!

Another horrific gay teen suicide caused by bullying, I'm so sad to report.

Gay 15-year-old Ottawa, Canada teen Jamie Hubley killed himself on Friday. Bullying was apparently to blame, the Ottawa Citizen reports. And like the recent bullying suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, Hubley documented much of what happened to him online: Jamie Hubley documented the final month of his life in heartbreaking and painful detail.

The 15-year-old boy, a son of Kanata South Councillor Allan Hubley and his wife, Wendy Barber, kept a blog in which he wrote openly of his struggles with depression and the challenges of being an openly gay teenager. Like Rodemeyer, he cited pop stars he loved and made videos on a YouTube channel.

MUM: Delaware Christian School Will Acknowledge No Gay Alums!

Once upon a time, Delaware Christian School was thrilled to boast about its semi-famous alum, David Emerson. And why not? He's a respected radio personality in Columbus, OH, and in his professional life he exemplifies a lot of good, bedrock American virtues. He's hard working, producing a morning show on Sunny95 FM before dashing off to do afternoon broadcasts on Rewind 103.5. He's a good Christian boy, having once hosted shows on an upbeat Jesus-centric station called JOY FM. And on his LinkedIn profile, Emerson claims to be a serious self-starter, willing to hurl himself at unfamiliar broadcasting and sound-editing software with a cheerful determination to learn well and fast. Maybe most impressively, he's a 26-year-old somehow hacking out a living as a full-time media person. Not so easy in 2011.

OBSCENE: Male Cheerleader in Texas Kicked Off Squad, Suspended for Gay Kiss Seen on Surveillance Camera!

A male cheerleader in Alice, Texas outside of Corpus Christi says he was kicked off the cheerleading squad and suspended after Alice High School officials observed him kissing another male student on a surveillance camera, KRIS reports.

"They never check cameras for anything unless something is stolen," the young man said, asking not be indentified. "We would be the ones getting caught because I'm sure we were the only ones, sexual orientation wise, being caught like that."

The boy said public displays of affection are a relatively common occurrence at Alice HS, and he believes that the principal would not have targeted him had he been caught kissing a female student.

"In this school [kissing] is everywhere, if that were the case, suspending everyone for that, half the school would be suspended," he said.

The student says he worked for years to make the varsity cheer squad. His family is prepared to Pursue legal action.

TARGET: Tennessee High School Principal Assaults Student Over Gay T-Shirt!

The principal of Sequoyah High School in Tennessee assaulted a A 17-year-old senior after he wore a T-shirt to school expressing support for a Gay-Straight Alliance, the ACLU of Tennessee reports: Sigler wore a homemade T-shirt to school last Tuesday that said “GSA: We’ve Got Your Back.” A teacher ordered Sigler to cover up the shirt in the future. Sigler, knowing he had a right to wear the shirt, wore it again Friday, and resisted an order to remove the shirt. Sigler says that Moser then ordered all students out of the classroom, except for Sigler’s sister Jessica, who refused to leave. According to both students, Moser then grabbed Sigler’s arm, shoved him, and chest-bumped him repeatedly while asking “Who’s the big man now?” Sigler’s mother reported that when she arrived at the school, she saw her son seated in a desk with Moser leaning over him and shouting in Sigler’s face. The Siglers filed a report about the incident that afternoon with the Madisonville Police Department.

BANNED: Gay Tennessee Couple Assaulted by FAMILY!

Jerry Pittman Jr. and his partner Dustin Lee were assaulted last week when they tried to attend a church service at Grace Fellowship Church in Fruitland, Tennessee, according to reports.

Pittman Jr. says his father, who is the church's pastor, instructed two deacons and Pittman's uncle to attack the couple and physically prevent them from attending the church service.

WBBJ reports: "My uncle and two other deacons came over to the car per my dad's request. My uncle smash me in the door as the other deacon knocked my boyfriend back so he couldn't help me, punching him in his face and his chest. The other deacon came and hit me through my car window in my back," said Pittman. He said bystanders did not offer assistance. He said the deacon yelled derogatory homosexual slurs, even after officers arrived. He said the officers never intervened to stop the deacons from yelling the slurs.

The couple says they were not allowed to press charges at the time of the incident, either.

Assault charges have now been filed against Deacons Billy Sims and Eugene McCoy and Pittman Jr.'s  father and Deacon Patrick Flatt. All are scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.

BULLIED: Student Suspended for Jeering Jamey Rodemeyer's Sister!

This week, a group of students at a homecoming dance allegedly jeered the sister of Jamey Rodemeyer. They screamed at her, "We're glad he's dead."

Now the Buffalo school's superintendent has suspended one student over the "incident." Which is progress. But there were reportedly several students jeering. What will happen to them?

And a broader question: when is anti-gay bullying going to show up on the Republican Party's radar? Hundreds, maybe thousands of LGBT schoolchildren face daily savagery straight out of Lord of the Flies - while the conservative establishment remains dead-silent. Bachmann, for instance, has failed to sign a petition against homophobic bullying, even as the Justice Department targets the school district in her congressional zone for laxity on bullying.

RETURN: Gay Teacher Back To Work After Investigation!

Kristopher Franks, the Fort Worth teacher who booted Dakota Ary from his class for anti-gay comments, returns to work today following an investigation into alleged improper behavior.

Franks was put on paid administrative leave last Monday for reasons unknown, though reportedly unrelated to the Ary incident, which became a national news story.

The Dallas Voice has more details: Franks, who had not spoken to the press previously on the advice of his union representative, said Thursday afternoon that he had just met with Fort Worth Independent School District administrators, who told him the nearly weeklong investigation had determined that the allegations against him were unfounded. He did not elaborate on the substance of those allegations.

TARGETED: Bullies Taunt Gay Suicide's Sis: 'We're Glad He's Dead'!

Bullies are continuing to plague a grief-stricken family even after the suicide of their 14-year-old gay son. New York student Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself after repeatedly complaining about bullies at his school and after making a heart-breaking YouTube video where he talked of his hopes for a better future. Now those same bullies chanted "we're glad he's dead" when Jamey's 16-year-old sister, Alyssa, attended a homecoming dance. "She was having a great time, and all of a sudden a Lady Gaga song came on, and they all started chanting for Jamey, all of his friends," Jamey's mom, Tracy, said on the Today Show. "Then the bullies that put him into this situation started chanting, 'You're better off dead!' and 'We're glad you're dead!'" 

Alyssa "came home in tears," said her mom. "It turned into bullying even after he's gone." Her dad added: "I can’t grasp it. I don’t know why anyone would do that. They have no heart." Authorities are still considering whether to file hate crime or criminal harassment charges against the key bullies who taunted Jamey. Lady Gaga dedicated a song to Jamey's memory at a weekend concert in Las Vegas.

DETERMINED: Gaga Attends Obama Fundraiser in Silicon Valley, Questions President About Anti-Bullying!

Days after vowing she would meet with the President over the bullying suicide of Jamey Rodemeyer, Lady Gaga paid to attend a $35,800 per couple fundraiser at the home of Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg last night, according to a White House press pool report: At 8pm pool was brought through the house, where Poker Face by Lady Gaga was playing, and into a white party tent set up in the back of the house. There were 7 large round tables – three on each side and one square in the middle in front of a small open space with an American and California state flag set up, where President Obama spoke.

At 8:03 pm Lady Gaga entered… delicately walking on sky-high heels (she towered over everyone, a good 2 feet taller than POTUS). She was wearing a floor-length sleeveless lacey black dress, her blonde hair was gathered in a bouffant up-do adorned with a black hair piece with a black veil down the back, which she swept to the side and in front of her left shoulder. (The hair added about 6 inches to her stature). She took a seat at the middle table in the tent and stood up with the other guests when POTUS entered a few minutes later.

RESPECT: Hundreds Attend Funeral for Jamey Rodemeyer!

The 14-year-old committed suicide one week ago under intense anti-gay bullying. At least 500 people came to his funeral to pay their respects. It's hard to imagine how difficult his life must have been for him to take his own life. Or to imagine what's going through the minds of the kids who bullied him.

It's so important that he's remembered. Nearing the end, he quoted from Lady Gaga's "The Queen" on his Facebook: "Don’t forget me when I come crying to heaven’s door."

COMMITTED: Cops Weigh Charges in Bullying Suicide!

Police are weighing criminal charges against three alleged teenage bullies who taunted a 14-year-old gay student for almost a year before he committed suicide, according to authorities. Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself earlier this week after blogging repeatedly about the bullying. No bullying laws exist in New York state, so the Amherst Police Department is weighing charges of harassment, cyber harassment, or hate crimes. 

"We've heard that there were some specific students, an identifiable group of students, that had specifically targeted Jamey, or had been picking on him for a period of time," Police Chief John C. Askey told the Buffalo News. Lady Gaga has launched a campaign to make bullying a crime in honor of Jamey, who thanked her on his last Tumblr message before his suicide.

MAKE IT BETTER: Gaga Meeting Obama Over Anti-Gay Bullying Suicides!

Lady Gaga tweeted today that she's meeting with President Obama following the suicide of gay 14-year-old teen Jamey Rodemeyer, who killed himself last weekend after what his parents said was years of bullying.

STRUGGLED: Gay Buffalo Teen Kills Himself After Years of Bullying!

Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old gay teen from the Buffalo, NY area, killed himself last weekend after what his parents say was years of bullying, WIVB reports: Soon after coming home from a family camping trip, Jamey was found dead Sunday. His parents say he was always under pressure because of struggles with his sexuality. Jamey’s mother Tracy Rodemeyer said, "So he hung around with the girls a lot, so then the teasing started happening like 'Oh you're such a girl or you're gay or whatever and that bothered him for many years."

Jamey’s father Tim Rodemeyer said, "To the kids who are bullying they have to realize that words are very powerful and what you think is just fun and games isn't to some people, and you are destroying a lot of lives."

GETTING BETTER: Gay Soldier Awaits Repeal of 'DADT'!

In the last video he says he'll make before the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" next week, the faceless YouTube soldier we've been following for the past month says he's been "very, very happy" the past few weeks and attributes it to his slowly coming out to friends, family, and fellow service members.

He also has an "It Gets Better" message for anyone listening who needs it.

WITCH: Bachmann thinks Anti-Gay Bullying Is "Not a Federal Issue"!

In Michele Bachmann's universe, bullying gay kids is a matter of states' rights. And that's all she has to say about it, thank you very much.

CBS reports: Alex Limon says he came to a Michele Bachmann rally here for one reason: To ask the Republican presidential candidate what she intends to do about school bullying in her district that reportedly targets gays.

He got to ask his question, but he didn't get a lengthy answer. "That's not a federal issue," Bachmann said, before moving on to the shake the hand of the next person waiting to speak to her.

TAKE THIS: Mom of Bullied Gay Son wants Bachmann to stop the Nonsense!

Tammy Aaberg, mother of Anoka-Hennepin gay teen suicide victim Justin Aaberg, delivered a box containing petitions bearing more than 130,000 signatures to Michele Bachmann's office yesterday, urging the congresswoman to address the issue of anti-LGBT bullying.

BULLIED: Montana High School Coach Resigns as (6) Football Players are Suspended for Bullying!

The coach of Kalispell, Montana's Glacier High School football team has resigned and six freshman football players have been suspended over a post-game  bullying incident on a bus that the coach was driving. Specific details of the incident have not been released.

KCFW reports: School officials say the incident occurred on the team bus as they returned home from an away game in Missoula. All six players allegedly involved were also kicked off the team. The team’s head coach, who administrators say was driving the bus, has resigned from his position. Administrators won't give specific information about what happened on the bus other than to say several students were physically bullied. Kalispell School District Superintendant Darlene Schottle says they've made a big push this year to prevent incidents like this from occurring. She says the students knew better.

SAVAGE LOVE: Teenager Says 'It Gets Better' Saved Him From Christian Counseling!