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The confluence of President Obama’s second inauguration and MLK Day is a fitting legacy and inspiration to continue making changes.

Today is the 11th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard. I don’t think anyone can contemplate this date without a mix of strong emotions. But for me, the date always brings a special blend of anger, shame and guilt.

I am in awe of young people. Today, for example, I read about a group of teens in Louisville, Ky. who continued to speak on LGBT issues. High school students from duPont Manual High School were censored for writing about gay issues, but they refused to let their voices be silenced. They decided to run an underground paper, The Red Pen, and won the annual Courage in Student Journalism Award.

"Dear Me, I know you're having a rough time of it ..."

A couple of years ago, an acquaintance who worked at the local college where I was teaching had trouble sending and receiving emails. She couldn’t, for the life of her, figure out why. Then an IT administrator clued her in: Her first name—Gay—triggered the school’s Internet filters. They were set to block any references to homosexuality, gender identity, etc.

On Monday, LGBT students’ rights were vindicated in a comprehensive settlement with Minnesota’s Anoka-Hennepin School District over its policies that hindered teachers from effectively responding to anti-gay bullying—policies that may have contributed to some of the district’s recent suicides. Then on Tuesday, in the afterglow of this historic victory, the Utah Senate passed its own discriminatory bill (HB 363) prohibiting educators from teaching about, or even talking about, homosexuality.

When LGBT teachers have to live in fear of being outed, their capacity to service students in an authentic way is diminished.

This online sidebar accompanies the Teaching Tolerance article " Possession Obsession." LGBT teenagers have the same vulnerabilities to abusive dating as straight kids—and then some. “There’s an added layer for these

Many people in United States hold the mistaken belief that LGBTQ people and Muslims are fundamentally at odds. As educators, we can teach the reality that LGBTQ Muslims exist and honor the voices of this identity group.