NOH8 Photo Of 11-year-old Texan Targeted By Anti-Gay Bullies Goes Viral

Vanessa Tijerina-Arguelles posted the above photo of her 11-year-old son, Jesus "Jesse" Franco, on Facebook on Friday morning and marked it with the hashtag #NOH8.

Since being reposted by the NOH8 Campaign a few hours later, the photo has been shared more than 83,000 times on Facebook.

As you can see, Jesse is holding two signs saying although he's not gay, he's been the victim of anti-gay bullying at his school in Raymondville, Texas, near McAllen. School officials have refused to do anything to stop the bullying, and have in fact punished him for defending himself, according to Jesse's signs.

The signs read:

"HELLO! I'M JESUS (JESSE) FRANCO. I'M NOT GAY. STILL, I GET CALLED GAY AND FAGGOT AT MY SCHOOL EVERY DAY. RAYMONDVILLE (TX) INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT DOES NOTHING. MY PARENTS & I HAVE TRIED 2 GET THEM 2 DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. THE LAST TIME I WAS ATTACKED, I GOT 2 DAYS OUT OF SCHOOL SUSPENSION FOR OVERCOMING THE BULLY, DEFENDING MYSELF. PARENTS OF THESE KIDS ARE BULLIES 2. MAYBE THAT'S WHY THE SCHOOL DOESN'T ACT & THE KIDS(S) DON'T STOP? PLEASE SHARE SO OTHER KIDS, LIKE ME, CAN SEE THEY ARE NOT ALONE. THE SCHOOL MAY VIOLATE MY FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND MY RIGHT TO (SILENT) PROTEST; THEY HAVE GIVEN ME NO CHOICE, NO HELP. THANK YOU. NO H8."

Jesse's mom, Tijerina-Arguelles, wrote the following when she originally posted the photo:

"My son is 11 years old. His school district is in a community that is a pro-bully, anti-victim community in EVERY aspect. Where victims should be of a concern (law enforcement, government, school district), and be protected. The latest insult was a gay slur, a shouted gay-bashing during lunch in the cafeteria, followed by ooohs. With faculty present. My son has a learning disability, he was caught off guard and unable to react. The bully who did this is a notorious bully, his mom is a nortorius bully. Both the mother and her son have cyber-bullied and gay bashed my boy. Enough is enough."

Tijerina-Arguelles said on Saturday that she took the photo and posted it as a last resort before Jesse, who's in sixth grade, left for school on Friday morning.

"It was not because he did not want to go; it was because he was afraid if he fought back that he would be punished again, and they wouldn't care that he was defending himself," Tijerina-Arguelles said. "He has a learning disability. He is actually extremely bright. He just has trouble socially and with new concepts and surprising circumstances, such as being bully-ambushed."

Tijerina-Arguelles said Jesse had asked why his bullies were using gay slurs. She explained it was because he's different and they make assumptions. That's when Jesse said there should be a campaign to protect people against anti-gay bullying.

"I said, 'Oh honey, there are many, some have been around forever. The newest one is NOH8. Have you heard of it?' ... I logged online and showed him the campaign. He said, 'I bet no one in Raymondville knows about that.' I said: 'I bet you're right. You want people to know about that?' He nodded. And voila! We made it happen. He got there [to school] and only one girl knew what it was about. Teachers asked him, 'Is that gang related?' He said, 'No, I support gays and their rights.' So proud of my boy. Others took out markers and followed suit."

Many of those who've commented and shared the photo say they plan to contact the Raymondville school superintendent. Here's his info should you choose to join them:

Johnny I. Pineda

jipineda@raymondvilleisd.org

956-689-8176

Eliz. Warren, 4 other Dem. Senators, join NOH8 photo campaign

US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has joined four other Democratic US Senators in being photographed for the pro-gay/pro-tolerance “NOH8” campaign.

NOH8 is the brainchild of photographer Adam Bouska, and was inspired by the Proposition 8 campaign in California that repealed gay marriage in that state. (Prop 8 was subsequently struck down by the courts, and gay couples can now marry in California.)

The campaign consists of celebrities and regular people being photographed with the phrase “NOH8″ (i.e., “no hate”) tradtionally written on their cheek, often while having a strip of silver tape across their mouths. Many of the members of Congress opted for a more subtle placement.

The addition of Warren and Mark Udall (D-CO), Carl Levin (D-MI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tom Udall (D-NM), brings the number of Senators in the campaign to 12. Over 100 US House members have also joined. That entire group includes only one Republican, U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.

Here are the new Senators:
Senator Heinrich, photographed earlier, was one of the few who opted for the full tape and tattoo.

Prop 8 from the Beginning

The American Foundation for Equal Rights has just put out this video chronicling the Proposition 8 case from its beginning.

The next possible day that the Supreme Court could rule on the marriage cases is this Monday. Find out where 'Day of Decision' rallies are happening around the country on this page.

A decision could come as early as tomorrow.

News from Capitol Hill

Senator Martin Heinrich from New Mexico becomes the first U.S. Senator to pose for the #NOH8 Campaign! Thank you, Senator Heinrich!