Then remember this: you reap what you sow.

by Nikki Serapio, Manager, New Media Strategies

If you didn't catch Rock the Vote's take on the midterms (we posted the RTV analysis earlier today), be sure to check it out — a lot of insights therein about what Congress and the Obama administration MUST do over the next few years in order to engage and re-engage young people.

So where are we? When I dug through the election postmortems this morning, I was surprised (perhaps I should not have been?) by the number of knee-jerk and evidence-flimsy news articles and blog posts about the youth vote. Some pundits will never cease scapegoating young people, but nevertheless it was frustrating to see one particularly specious argument making the rounds today: look here...there was a decline in under 30-year-old turnout in yesterday's election versus the 2008 election...and therefore young people are to blame for the Democratic Party's losses yesterday.

Never mind the fact that it's unfair to compare a midterm election to a presidential election. When you take an honest look at the numbers for this cycle, you see one bare truth amidst the spin.

In a time when young people account for 1 out of every 4 new HIV infections, Congress is close to eliminating the only dedicated federal funding stream for school-based HIV prevention — $40 million in funding that states and large urban school districts need in order to carry out their vital youth HIV prevention programs.

Follow this link to take action now!

The Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) is a proud partner of Greater Than AIDS, a national movement that brings together some of the country’s largest media companies and other corporate partners, private foundations, local health departments, and AIDS service organizations. Through a national media campaign and targeted community outreach, Greater Than AIDS aims to increase knowledge and understanding about HIV/AIDS and confront the stigma surrounding the disease, with a particular emphasis on reaching Black Americans.

You can hear more from the inspiring individuals featured in the campaign, in their own words, here.  

by Jaclyn Friedman

There’s only one kind of sex scandal worthy of discussing, and that’s the kind in which one or more participants in the scandal are acting like hypocrites. Think Eliot Spitzer, crusading against the sex trade and frequenting a prostitute. Think any of the “family values” politicians getting caught cheating, or the homophobic preachers who are actually on the DL. Think Tiger Woods selling himself as the ultimate family man. Even still, you’ll notice that hypocrisy alone isn’t enough to make a valid sex scandal - the hypocrite must be someone with influence over culture or policy. If your next-door neighbor is cheating on her wife, it’s not a sex scandal for anyone outside of your neighborhood. And even if the person is a powerful influencer, it’s the fact of their hypocrisy that matters, not the minutia of their bedroom behavior.

I mention this because people seem confused lately.

by Emily Bridges, Director of Public Information Services

Two news items from yesterday:

1) The Department of Education sent out a letter to schools that "clarifies the relationship between bullying and discriminatory harassment," observing that since homophobic bullying is gender-based, it violates the law, and schools must address and prevent it.

2) A school board official in Arkansas (Clint McCance) declared on Facebook that wearing purple to honor GLBTQ youth is stupid, because all "queers" should commit suicide.

The first item is great news.  I'm not a legal expert so I don't know what it means in terms of pending anti-bullying legislation, but the letter is crystal-clear that regardless of state bullying laws or school policies, anti-gay bullying is illegal.

by Nikki Serapio, Manager, New Media Initiatives

One year ago, Ugandan parliamentarian David Bahati introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, a measure that seeks to impose the death penalty on LGBT HIV-positive citizens found to be having sex, as well as life sentences for LGBT Ugandans found to be (by a lay witness or the police) having sex.

First, the good news — the bill has stalled. Warren Throckmorton, a popular blogger and college professor who has followed the the Anti-Homosexuality Bill since its introduction, published an update today on the current status of the measure within the Uganda Parliament.

"...it remains under consideration by the [Ugandan Parliament's] Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee. According to Charles Tuhaise, a researcher in the Parliamentary Research service, no public hearings have been scheduled. A second reading cannot be scheduled until hearings have been conducted and a committee report has been prepared. Time is running out; the Ugandan elections are coming and the current Parliament ends inn May, 2011. Hon. David Bahati, the mover of the bill, has not responded to my questions about where he takes the bill from here."

In part, the bill was stalled after outcry and pressure from the Obama administration, the U.S. Congress, and a number of human rights organizations (including Advocates for Youth).

by Abby Rosenstein, State Strategies Coordinator 

In light of recent high-profile suicides following severe bullying toward youth who were gay or perceived to be gay, school climate and harassment have commanded national attention. Not only are these issues in the media, but they are moving and changing state policies. In 2010, more than 10 states introduced legislation related to anti-bullying and safe schools, with a focus on GLBTQ students.

In Tennessee and Iowa, bills were introduced that would have been actively discriminatory against GLBTQ students. Thankfully, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill was defeated in Tennessee. The bill would have prevented all discussion of or materials relating to any sexual orientation other than heterosexuality in schools. In Iowa, a bill which would have removed protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity from the state’s existing anti-bullying law was not passed.

Happy Ally Week 2010!

To celebrate National Ally week, Advocates for Youth is working with a broad coalition of organizations to support straight allies across the United States and around the world as they "come out" in support of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.

In addition to visiting our Ally Week 2010 page on Amplify, we invite you to join us in three important ways:

Help us take action:

1) Sign the Ally Pledge created by GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network at www.allyweek.org.

By doing so you demonstrate your belief that "all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression deserve to feel safe and supported" and pledge to:

- Not use anti-GLBTQ language or slurs.
- Intervene, if you safely can, in situations where students are being harassed.
- Support efforts to end bullying and harassment.

2) Publicly show your support by changing your Facebook or Twitter status. After all, the fight for equality cannot be the responsibility of GLBTQ people only. We're all in this together!

Add this as your Facebook status:
"This week I am coming out as an ally to the GLBTQ community because I believe all young people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, deserve to feel safe and supported."

You can also click here to share this message on Twitter.