Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) has released an online video that urges people to tell their representatives to support legislation to protect public school students from a “wave” of bullying targeting lesbian, gay, bixsexual or transgender teens.

“Nine out of ten LGBT kids are harassed or bullied in school,” he said. “A third skipped school in the past month because they felt unsafe. Study after study has shown that LGBT kids are much more likely than their peers to attempt suicide. This is a tragedy and it is happening right now.”

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“Federal laws say you can’t discriminate against kids because of their race, sex, religion or what country they are from,” Franken continued. “But our laws say nothing about sexual orientation or gender identity. Our federal laws do not protect these kids.”

Franken and Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) introduced the Student Non-Discrimination Act in March of 2011.

The bill would create a federal prohibition against discrimination in public schools based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, it would forbid schools from discriminating against LGBT students or ignoring harassing behavior. Schools that violated the act could lose their federal funding.

Watch the video below:



[H/T: Blog of Rights]