[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[HOU]
[Page 5560]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NATIONAL DAY OF SILENCE

  (Mr. FARR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the National Day of 
Silence. Tomorrow is the 16th year we've commemorated the National Day 
of Silence, a time when students across the country remain silent for 
the whole day to draw attention to the discrimination toward their LGBT 
peers. The National Day of Silence is important for many reasons--to 
let our youth know they're not alone, that there are plenty of people 
ready to support them just the way they are.
  As my constituent, Heidi Dimas, a senior at Pajaro Valley High School 
puts it:

       The National Day of Silence is important to me because it 
     is a day when you see all the support for the silent ones and 
     that nobody is alone in anything.

  I'm proud of my constituents who are calling for a stop to harassment 
of LGBT individuals. I am particularly proud of my constituents in 
Watsonville and from the Pajaro Valley High School for hosting the 16th 
Annual Queer Youth Leadership Awards.
  Though many LGBT advocates and their allies are silent tomorrow, we 
in Congress must never be silent. It is our job to speak for those who 
cannot speak for themselves. Another of my constituents, Molly Schrank, 
from Alternative Family Education in Santa Cruz said it best:

       The National Day of Silence is important to me because 
     sometimes silence speaks louder than words.

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