My Friends, 6 years ago, I began this petition because I was disturbed by the horror of Bullying and Bullycide, and I thought by really making this petition, we would have congress and senate FINALLY take up this message that this isn't just a violation of civil and moral rights of youth, It is a violation of Human rights, Period! However, since the GOP and this big bully named Trump took office, our struggle just got harder and harder, and more tragic sincerely. The facts are astounding and I want to give you the CLEAR FACTS about this now more than ever why we need to, as a country and as a planet say...WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH of our youth losing their lives to Bullying/bullycide and so forth. The latest information is very disturbing: According to the National Voices for Equality, Education and Enlightment, the statistics speak strongly why we need tough laws and a national law to make Bullying and Bullycide a hate crime in this country: Suicide remains among the leading causes of death of children under 14. In most cases, the young people die from hanging. Suicide rates among 10 to 14-year-olds have grown more than 50 percent over the last three decades. (The American Association of Suicidology, AAS) A new review of studies from 13 countries found signs of an apparent connection between bullying, being bullied, and suicide. (Yale School of Medicine) Suicide rates among children between the ages of 10 & 14 are very low, but are “creeping up.” (Ann Haas, Director of the Suicide Prevention Project at the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) The suicide rate among young male adults in Massachusetts rose 28 percent in 2007. However, that does not reflect deaths among teenagers and students Carl’s age. (Massachusetts Dept. of Public Health, in a report released April 8, 2009) Since 2002, at least 15 schoolchildren ages 11 to 14 have committed suicide in Massachusetts. Three of them were Carl’s age. (“Constantly Bulled, He Ends His Life at Age 11,” by Milton J. Valencia. The Boston Globe, April 20, 2009) Suicide rates among 10 to 14-year-olds have grown more than 50 percent over the last three decades. (The American Association of Suicidology, AAS) In 2005 (the last year nationwide stats were available), 270 children in the 10-14 age group killed themselves. (AAS) 1 in 7 Students in Grades K-12 is either a bully or a victim of bullying. 56% of students have personally witnessed some type of bullying at school. 15% of all school absenteeism is directly related to fears of being bullied at school. 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school. 1 out of 20 students has seen a student with a gun at school. 282,000 students are physically attacked in secondary schools each month. Those in the lower grades reported being in twice as many fights as those in the higher grades. However, there is a lower rate of serious violent crimes in the elementary level than in the middle or high schools. 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying. Among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as homicide victims to have been bullied by peers. Bullying statistics say revenge is the strongest motivation for school shootings. 87% of students said shootings are motivated by a desire to “get back at those who have hurt them.” 86% of students said, “other kids picking on them, making fun of them or bullying them” causes teenagers to turn to lethal violence in the schools. 61% of students said students shoot others because they have been victims of physical abuse at home. 54% of students said witnessing physical abuse at home can lead to violence in school. According to bullying statistics, 1 out of every 10 students who drops out of school does so because of repeated bullying. Harassment and bullying have been linked to 75% of school-shooting incidents. Here are some more facts: In a 2007 study, 86% of LGBT students said that they had experienced harassment at school during the previous year. (According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network — GLSEN) Research indicates that LGBT youth may be more likely to think about and attempt suicide than heterosexual teens. (GLSEN) In a 2005 survey, students said their peers were most often bullied because of their appearance, but the next top reason was because of actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. (“From Teasing to Torment: School Climate of America” — GLSEN and Harris Interactive) According to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 students… Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation Nearly half (44.1 percent) reported being physically harassed About a quarter (22.1 percent) reported being physically assaulted. Nearly two-thirds (60.8 percent) who experienced harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school Of those who did report the incident, nearly one-third (31.1 percent) said the school staff did nothing in response 32% of online teens say they have been targets of a range of annoying or potentially menacing online activities. 15% of teens overall say someone has forwarded or posted a private message they’ve written, 13% say someone has spread a rumor about them online, 13% say someone has sent them a threatening or aggressive message, and 6% say someone has posted embarrassing pictures of them online. 38% of online girls report being bullied, compared with 26% of online boys. In particular, 41% of older girls (15-17) report being bullied—more than any other age or gender group. 39% of social network users have been cyber bullied in some way, compared with 22% of online teens who do not use social networks. 20% of teens (12-17) say “people are mostly unkind” on online social networks. Younger teenage girls (12-13) are considerably more likely to say this. One in three (33%) younger teen girls who use social media say that people their age are “mostly unkind” to one another on social network sites. 15% of teens on social networks have experienced someone being mean or cruel to them on a social network site. There are no statistically significant differences by age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, or any other demographic characteristic. 13% of teens who use social media (12-17) say they have had an experience on a social network that made them feel nervous about going to school the next day. This is more common among younger teens (20%) than older teens (11%). 88% of social media-using teens say they have seen someone be mean or cruel to another person on a social network site. 12% of these say they witness this kind of behavior “frequently.” When teens see others being mean or cruel on social networks,frequently 55% see other people just ignoring what is going on, 27% see others defending the victim, 20% see others telling the offender to stop, and 19% see others join in on the harassment. 36% of teens who have witnessed others being cruel on social networks have looked to someone for advice about what to do. 67% of all teens say bullying and harassment happens more offline than online. 1 in 6 parents know their child has been bullied over social media. In over half of these cases, their child was a repeat victim. Over half of parents whose children have social media accounts are concerned about cyberbullying and more than three-quarters of parents have discussed the issue of online bullying with their children. 11% of middle school students were victims of cyberbullying in the past two months. Girls are more likely than boys to be victims or bully/victims. “Hyper-networking” teens (those who spend more than three hours per school day on online social networks) are110% morelikely to be a victim of cyberbullying, compared to those who don’t spend as much time on social networks. 95% of social media-using teens who have witnessed cruel behavior on social networking sites say they have seen others ignoring the mean behavior; 55% witness this frequently. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011) 84% have seen the people defend the person being harassed; 27% report seeing this frequently. 84% have seen the people tell cyberbullies to stop bullying; 20% report seeing this frequently. 66% of teens who have witnessed online cruelty have also witnessed others joining; 21% say they have also joined in the harassment. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011) Only 7% of U.S. parents are worried about cyberbullying, even though 33% of teenagers have been victims of cyberbullying (Pew Internet and American Life Survey, 2011) 85% of parent of youth ages 13-17 report their child has a social networking account. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011) 52% of parents are worried their child will be bullied via social networking sites. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011) 1 in 6 parents know their child has been bullied via a social networking site. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011) One million children were harassed, threatend or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on Facebook during the past year. (Consumer Reports, 2011) 43% of teens aged 13 to 17 report that they have experienced some sort of cyberbullying in the past year. More girls are cyberbullies than boys (59% girls and 41% boys). Cyberbullies spend more time online than other teens overall (38.4 hours compared to 26.8 hours). 100,000 students carry a gun to school each day 28% of youths who carry weapons have witnessed violence at home Among students, homicide perpetrators were more than twice as likely as homicide victims to have been bullies by peers. More youth violence occurs on school grounds as opposed to on the way to school. 1/3 of students surveyed said they heard another student threaten to kill someone. Ladies and gentleman, I do not know about you, but I am VERY VERY DISTURBED AND ANGRY by these statistics, and our youth, no matter what preference of gender, religion, etc. DESERVE TO GO TO SCHOOL IN PEACE AND SAFETY AND FREEDOM to get a education and make a difference in the world WITHOUT BEING BULLIED WHATSOEVER. IT IS TIME MY FRIENDS TO SAY TO OUR CONGRESS AND SENATE: "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" Our youth's lives are being threatened every single day and it is time we stood as one voice to end hate, to end the violence, and more. I ask you from my heart to please, after reading these statistics to spread this petition and tell everyone to please join my fight for change and send a strong message to our leaders in Washington, DC during this important election year and the candidates who are running: "Make our youth's future top priority on your campaign list, tell us what you will to do make bullying/bullycide a hate crime that is punishable by law." I hope we can make a strong difference in this country together! Now more than ever before in history. Very sincerely yours, Christopher C. Gagliardi Petition founder Give the youth the rights for justice against bullies