Romney abolishes
governor's commission
on gay and lesbian
youth
From boston.com on
the Web, July 21, 2006
BOSTON -- Gov. Mitt Romney
issued an executive order Friday abolishing the state's 14-year-old governor's
commission on gay and lesbian youth after lawmakers overrode his veto of a bill
creating a new commission out of the reach of the governor's office.
A spokesman for Romney said he issued the executive order because there was no
need for two commissions both focused on the needs of gay and lesbian youth.
Romney angered many gay rights activists and lawmakers when he flirted with the
idea earlier this year of abolishing the commission, the first of its kind in
the nation, after a press release announcing a youth gay pride march was issued
without the administration's blessing.
Instead of killing the commission Romney ordered it to refocus on its core
mission of suicide prevention.
The bill approved by lawmakers over Romney's veto would create a new commission,
none of whose members would be directly appointed by the governor.
One of the main goals of the commission would be to create "school-based and
community-based programs focusing on suicide prevention, violence intervention,
and the promotion of zero-tolerance policies regarding harassment and
discrimination against gay and lesbian youth."
The Gov.'s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth was first created by former
Republican Gov. William Weld through an executive order. That allowed
Romney to dismantle it, also by executive order.
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