CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Advocates in Iowa said a measure aimed at clamping down on harassment and bullying in schools is being blocked by a handful of key lawmakers because it touches on the issue of protecting gay and lesbian students. "That's what the people of Iowa ought to be outraged about, that certain Republicans would hold these bills up so they couldn't be debated," Rich Eychaner, a prominent Des Moines businessman who is an openly gay Republican activist, said Monday. The measure Eychaner is supporting would ban harassment against youngsters for a long list of reasons, including sexual orientation. "It won't work unless you identify the people who are most subject to harassment," Eychaner said. The issue was scheduled to be debated in the senate education committee on Monday, but Republican senator Paul McKinley, a head of the panel, erased it from the list of measures to be considered. McKinley said he's all for safe schools but doesn't think lawmakers need to specify which groups need to be protected. Because the senate is tied at 25-25, each committee has two chairmen, and both must sign off on which measures will be debated. Democratic senator Michael Connolly, the other committee chairman, has authored a similar measure. Brad Clark, who heads a task force on issues affecting gays and lesbians in school, said harassment is growing. He said many people in positions to protect youngsters from being bullied don't think they have the tools they need. "To say that this is something a kid has to go through is just not acceptable," Clark said. "A lot of teachers and some administrators don't feel they have the backing to control the problem." H. Ted Coppock, a Des Moines insurance executive, has joined in the lobbying effort. "I happen to be a lifelong, rabid Republican who has a gay daughter," said Coppock, who is seeking to buttonhole GOP lawmakers on the issue. "When she went to school at Saydel High School she was faced with these issues," Coppock said. "There were many times when she came home from school crying because she had been harassed or bullied." Eychaner lost a Republican congressional primary in the 1980s, largely because he publicly acknowledged his sexual orientation. He's been active in gay rights causes since that time. For the past year, Eychaner said he's been holding community meetings across the state and has lined up support from virtually every education interest group in the state as well as hundreds of other groups. "This is an issue that has widespread support around the state," Eychaner said. "This is not a few people coming down to the legislature. This is dozens and dozens and dozens, if not hundreds, of organizations all over the state of Iowa saying this needs to be fixed." (AP)
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Kamala Harris rides wave of Democratic energy at kickoff event in Wisconsin
July 23 2024 3:36 PM
'Devastated:' A six-week abortion ban will go into effect in Iowa next week
July 23 2024 2:28 PM
Four hours, 44,000 Black women, and one Zoom call
July 23 2024 2:17 PM
Record 1.2 million people show out for Cologne’s Pride parade
July 23 2024 10:51 AM
Here's how far-right activist Leonard Leo helped fund Bud Light boycott
July 23 2024 10:27 AM
Elon Musk’s comments about his trans daughter prove why she doesn’t speak to him
July 23 2024 9:16 AM
Nancy Pelosi endorses Kamala Harris for president
July 22 2024 4:07 PM