[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 5540]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1020
                        NATIONAL DAY OF SILENCE

  (Mr. POCAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. POCAN. I join today with my colleagues to observe the National 
Day of Silence, which began 13 years ago, to raise awareness of the 
hurtful and often long-term silencing effects that anti-LGBT name-
calling, bullying, and harassment has on our young people. It's a 
tragic fact of our society that almost all LGBT youth know what it's 
like to be bullied or harassed because of their identified or perceived 
sexual orientation. Surveys show that nearly 9 out of every 10 LGBT 
students have experienced harassment in our schools.
  Mr. Speaker, our schools should be a place of learning and growth, 
where every student, no matter their background or orientation, should 
be safe and free to reach their full potential. On the National Day of 
Silence, we stand with our LGBT students to let them know that we 
understand, we care, and we are here for you.
  I stand in silence to observe this day.

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