North Carolina Rep. Jim Crawford (D)

North Carolina Rep. Jim Crawford (D) was one of 10 Democrats who voted in favor of placing Amendment One on the May 8 ballot, a measure that would ban not only same-sex marriage, but also civil unions and domestic partnerships. He sponsored an almost identical amendment in 2009, and co-sponsored a similar amendment in 2010. Now, though, he says he opposes the measure because “it goes too far” and claims he never favored the version that passed:

CRAWFORD: When this legislation was introduced, it did not have the contract problems that the bill has now, and I told Elaine the other day that I would vote against this bill because it does go too far. I think it’s only right that these folks [same-sex couples] can have a contract or an agreement so that they can look after each other in the hospitals, have insurance, and the other benefits. The legislation that has my name on it — it got changed considerably, and I would not support that legislation and I would definitely vote against it.

Watch him change his position in response to a recent confrontation with a lesbian constituent:

Given that Crawford voted for the amendment in its final form, he bears responsibility for all the changes that were made to it. His past support for banning same-sex marriage suggests his sudden flip-flop has little to do with an actual change of heart. Due to redistricting, Crawford faces a Democratic primary against fellow incumbent Rep. Winkie Wilkins (D), who voted against Amendment One. This is little more than political pandering from a well-documented opponent of LGBT equality.

Since news broke that Ohio mom Jen Tyrrell was ousted as her son’s den leader from the Boy Scouts for being gay, more than 154,000 people have signed a Change.org petition asking for her reinstatement, and Tyrrell has appeared on multiple national media outlets to discuss the experience. Now, GLAAD digs up this clip of then-Senate candidate Mitt Romney saying that all people should be able to participate in the organization. Romney served on the National Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America for nearly a decade.

ROMNEY: I believe that the Boy Scouts of America does a wonderful service for this country,” Romney says. “I support the right of the Boy Scouts of America to decide what it wants to do on that issue. I feel that all people should be allowed to participate in the Boy Scouts regardless of their sexual orientation.

Watch it:

Interestingly, Romney also banned the Boy Scouts from officially volunteering at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, although he said then that Boy Scouts couldn’t volunteer because most weren’t 18 years old, the mandatory minimum age the Olympics set for volunteers.

(Click on the graphs to see them full size.)

GLSEN has released a new research brief based on data collected for its 2009 school climate survey, which found that 9 out of 10 LGBT students had felt unsafe in school at some point because of their identity. The new report (aptly titled “Teaching Respect”) examines the impact when a school offers a curriculum that is LGBT-inclusive — that is, that it includes positive representations of LGBT people, history, and events. Resoundingly, such curricula can greatly reduce the levels of anti-LGBT victimization while improving levels of peer acceptance. In addition, students with such programs feel safer coming to school and are more comfortable talking to their teachers about LGBT issues. Here are a few of the effects an inclusive classroom has on students:

• They are half as likely to experience high levels of victimization based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
• They are 20 percent less likely to feel unsafe in school because of their identities.
• They are half as likely to miss school because they don’t feel safe attending.
• They are 20 percent more likely to feel comfortable discussing LGBT issues with a teacher.
• They are 24 percent more likely to report that their classmates are accepting of LGBT people, and are thus less likely to hear homophobic language.
• They are twice as likely to report that their peers intervene when they hear homophobic remarks.

In 2009, only 13 percent of students reported that they had an inclusive curriculum in their school. Surely, the passage of California’s FAIR Education Act last year could help increase this number, but proposed “don’t say gay” measures in Tennessee and Missouri threaten threaten to make classrooms even less welcoming for students.

Students’ physical and mental health hang in the balance. Negative community attitudes, bullying, stigma, and victimization can lead to depression, substance abuse, and suicidal thinking that can last a lifetime. In contrast, students who are supported when they come out experience significant emotional benefits, and gay-straight alliances in schools can enhance the effect. Conservatives insist that young people must be “protected” from homosexual indoctrination, but the research is clear that acknowledging and supporting LGBT students is what’s best for them.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA)

The Senate began debate on Wednesday to reauthorize the landmark Violence Against Women Act, a measure that prevents domestic violence and aids victims of domestic or sexual abuse. Earlier this year, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) led a Republican effort to block renewal of the Act because he objected to the bill’s protections for LGBT individuals, undocumented immigrants and Native Americans, causing every single Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee to vote against its reauthorization. House Republicans have also refused to take up the measure earlier this year.

Now, the GOP is crafting watered-down proposals that specifically exclude LGBT people, Native Americans, immigrants, and others:

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, joined by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, is preparing an alternative that would alter several Democratic provisions. Their alternative would cap visas available to legal and illegal immigrants who suffer abuse at 10,000 a year, compared to 15,000 proposed by the Democratic bill offered by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. It does not specify, as the Democratic bill does, that violence against gays, lesbians and transgenders are part of the act. The Leahy bill expands the authority of Native American officials to handle cases of abuse of Indian women by non-Indians. The Republican substitute permits tribal authorities to go to federal court for protective orders on behalf of abused Native American women.

The base Senate bill would reauthorize VAWA for five years with funding of $659.3 million a year, down $136.5 million a year from the last VAWA act, which expired several months ago. The money goes to such programs as legal assistance for victims, enforcement of protection orders, transitional housing aid and youth prevention programs.

Sponsors of the House bill, which is still being drafted, said it would be close to the Grassley-Hutchison approach. It was introduced by 12 GOP women lawmakers and three members of the Republican leadership, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia.

Mitt Romney, the party’s presumptive presidential nominee, has refused to say which version of the Violence Against Women Act he supports, but as Attorney General Eric Holder put it, “For the life of me, I cannot begin to understand why this is something that is a debate within Congress.”

“It is inconceivable to me now that we are in the process of a debate about something that has proven so effective and is clearly so needed for the future,” Holder added. “It must be passed, and it must be passed soon.”

Research indicates that domestic violence among same-sex couples occurs at similar rates as domestic violence among straight couples. Unfortunately, domestic violence victims in same-sex relationships are not receiving the help they need due to the lack of legal recognition of same-sex relationships, law enforcement’s failure to identity and properly handle domestic violence cases involving people of the same sex, and the shortage of resources available to victims of same-sex partner domestic abuse. A 2011 report from the National Anti-Violence Project, however, that rates of domestic abuse and violence have increased among couples in the LGBT community and that support and protections for survivors is low. Reported instances of domestic violence increased 38 percent from last year, including seven deaths, while over 44 percent of survivors were turned away from traditional shelters and over 54 percent who sought court orders for protection from abuse were denied.