Source+8

http://www.washingtonblade.com/2011/09/17/bachmann-anti-gay-bullying-not-a-federal-issue/


 * Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is coming under fire from LGBT advocates for saying anti-gay bullying isn’t a problem for the federal government.
 * At a rally in Costa Mesa, Calif., on Friday, Minnesota resident Alex Lemon asked Bachmann what she intends to do about the rash of anti-gay school bullying in her district, according to CBS News.
 * Bachmann reportedly offered a brief response: “That’s not a federal issue.”
 * A U.S. House member who represents Minnesota in Congress, Bachmann has become associated with the issue of anti-gay bullying because of the rash of teen suicides in her congressional district.
 * Over the past two years, nine youths have committed suicide in the Anoka-Hennepin school district, the largest in Minnesota. At least four suicide victims were victims of bullying because they were gay or perceived to be gay.
 * In July, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit against the district on behalf of students who say they experienced harassment and violence as a result of an anti-gay environment.
 * “A national issue is when an issue is occurring throughout the entire nation,” Laiseki said. “Therefore, when incidents of suicides and bullying are occurring in all fifty-states, it clarifies that this a national issue that needs prompt solutions.”
 * Legislation pending before Congress known as the Student Non-Discrimination Act and the Safe Schools Improvement Act aims to stop the bullying of LGBT students in schools. President Obama has yet to endorse either of these bills.
 * Bachmann has an extensive anti-gay voting history as a member of Congress and has taken anti-gay positions in her pursuit of the White House. She backs a U.S. constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage and has pledged to reinstate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” if elected president.