FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2012

CONTACTS:
Brett Abrams : 516-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com

BULLIED STUDENT URGING THE MPAA TO REMOVE “R” RATING FROM “BULLY” TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON, DC TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT HER CAMPAIGN

High school junior Katy Butler started the campaign on Change.org after the MPAA issued an “R” rating for “Bully” by just one vote

More than 290,000 people have thrown their support behind Katy’s campaign, including a bipartisan group of 26 Members of Congress, and celebrities including Ellen DeGeneres, Demi Lovato, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees

WASHINGTON, DC - Katy Butler, a bullied Michigan high school student who has mobilized nearly 300,000 people calling on the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) to drop its “R” rating for the upcoming documentary “Bully,” will travel to Washington, DC this week to raise awareness about her campaign and to continue pressure on the MPAA to change its rating for the anti-bullying film.

WHO: Katy Butler, a 17-year-old bullied student who started a campaign on Change.org that has received support from nearly 300,000 individuals, urging the MPAA to drop its “R” rating for the film “Bully” and replace it with a “PG-13” rating.

WHAT: After the MPAA ruled by one vote that the upcoming documentary “Bully” should receive an “R” rating, Katy Butler started a petition on Change.org urging the MPAA to reconsider. According to Butler, the movie “Bully” needs to be seen by middle school students and high school students the most, given the epidemic of school bullying in the United States. An “R” rating, Butler says, will prevent that audience from being able to see the film. Butler, who was bullied so bad in middle school that bullies broke her finger during an assault, delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures to the MPAA’s office in Los Angeles last week, and her campaign continues to pick up supporters, including celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Drew Brees, as well as a bipartisan group of 26 Members of Congress, who have sent a letter to the MPAA in support of Butler’s petition.

WHEN: Katy Butler will be in Washington, DC from Thursday, March 15 -- Saturday March 17, 2012

PETITION: Katy Butler’s petition can be viewed at www.change.org/bully

Live signature totals from Katy Butler’s campaign (and comments from signers):
http://www.change.org/bully

Rep. Mike Honda’s Congressional sign-on letter to the MPAA:
http://honda.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1170:supporting-bullying-awareness&catid=16:blog-posts&Itemid=357

Katy Butler appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show (March 7):
http://ellen.warnerbros.com/2012/03/ellen_discusses_bully_0307.php

Katy Butler appearance on FOX & Friends (March 6):
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/fox-friends/index.html#/v/1491016262001/teen-stands-up-to-bullies-petitions-mpaa/?playlist_id=86912

Journalists interested in contacting the MPAA should try:

Joan Graves
Head of the Classification and Rating Administration, MPAA
Joan_Graves@mpaa.org
(818) 995-6600

Howard Gantman
Vice President of Corporate Communications, MPAA
Howard_Gantman@mpaa.org
(818) 995-6600

For more information on Change.org, please visit:
http://www.change.org/about

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: TREVOR FITZGIBBON, (202) 406-0646, trevor@fitzgibbonmedia.com

Over 130,000 Letters Delivered to Congress to Stop Student Interest Rates from Doubling

Rebuild the Dream, US PIRG, Campus Progress, U.S. Student Association Join Sen. Jack Reed & Rep. Joe Courtney

Who: Senator Jack Reed and Representative Joe Courtney join with students impacted by the rate hike, US PIRG, Rebuild the Dream, Campus Progress and the United States Student Association

What: Dozens of students from across the country will gather to announce the collection of over 130,000 letters to Congress to prevent student loan interest rates from doubling this July. Students who will be impacted in July will deliver the letters to the leadership of both parties immediately after the press event asking their support for a new plan.

Where and when: Tuesday March 13th, at the Senate Swamp on the Northeast side of the Capitol building. The event will begin at 12 pm and will end at 12:15 pm.

Why: This July interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans will double for almost 8 million students. The average subsidized Stafford loan borrower will pay an extra $2,800 on their loans, and students borrowing the maximum $23,000 in subsidized loans starting next year would pay almost $5,000 more over a 10-year repayment period.

Excellent visuals: Boxes of letters make this event terrific for the camera. Students impacted by the change will be on hand for interviews.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 12, 2012

CONTACT:
(USA) Brett Abrams : (516)-841-1105 : brett@fitzgibbonmedia.com
(EUROPE) Guillaume Bonnet : guillaume@allout.org

Russian Governor Signs Anti-LGBT, Anti-Expression Bill Into Law

After Months of Massive Worldwide Protests, AllOut.org & ComingOut-St. Petersburg Respond


New York, NY - Despite months of sustained international protests led by global gay rights organization AllOut.org and their partners in Russia - ComingOut, SidebySide and the Russian LGBT Federation - St. Petersburg Governor Georgiy Poltavchenko signed a law yesterday that would criminalize reading, writing, speaking or reporting on anything related to gay, lesbian bi or trans (LGBT) people.

Andre Banks, co-founder and executive director for AllOut.org responded:

“By validating a new regime of censorship and intolerance, Governor Poltavchenko has diminished the reputation of his city with the stroke of a pen. 100,000 people have promised not to visit the "new" St. Petersburg after this law goes into effect. Travel companies are considering revising their scheduled trips to the city. St. Petersburg's sister cities have even begun to put pressure on the Governor to reject this law. Together, we have sent a very clear message to Poltavchenko and leaders around the world: there will be a high price to pay for advancing the cause of bigotry and intolerance. AllOut.org continues to stand with our partners in Russia and will work through diplomatic channels, creative online campaigns and offline events to ensure that this law is repealed and that others like it never see the light of day.”

Polina Savchenko, general manager for ComingOut, a St. Petersburg-based LGBT organization issued the following statement:

“Today it became known that the governor of St. Petersburg Georgiy Poltavchenko signed the homophobic law, imposing administrative fines on the so-called ‘propaganda of sodomy, lesbianism, bisexuality, transgenderism.’

Authorities project "traditional values" and clerical rhetoric onto politics, and prioritize "interests of majority" over the value of human individuality. We realize that today, fascist-like rhetoric in Russia is becoming basis for legislative activity.

In fact, this law has little to do with protecting minors. Today, neither homosexual people, nor human rights defenders, nor lawyers can answer the question of how this law is going to be applied in practice, due to its vague nature and non-legal terminology. To talk about existence of homosexuality, to publicly denounce homophobic violence, to develop sense of self-awareness and dignity in homosexual people, to promote tolerance – all of these acts can fall under the "propaganda" law. This law will serve directly to further isolate and marginalize the gay community and encourage hate towards a social group.

We are convinced that no authority can deprive people of their right to dignity, to respect of private and family life, to freedom of expression and to protection from discrimination and violence. We are offended and outraged by this act by city authorities and will continue fighting for the rights of LGBT citizens until the barbaric law is repealed.”

BACKGROUND:

In December and January, AllOut.org was one of the first international organizations to bring critical attention to the issue with a petition of over 270,000 worldwide that encouraged Vice President of the European Commission Catherine Ashton to formally discussed the issue in a meeting with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in January.
For more information: http://allout.org/russia_silenced.

AllOut.org members then hit the phones and organized a call-in campaign that pushed 6 countries to make official statements condemning the law.
For more information: http://allout.org/russia_call

In February, AllOut.org members were joined by dozens of human rights organizations around the world in demonstrations at Russian embassies in Argentina (Buenos Aires), USA (New York), France (Paris), Germany (Berlin and Hamburg), Italy (Milan), Portugal (Lisbon), Belgium (Antwerp) and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro). At the Embassies, AllOut.org hand-delivered 300,000+ signatures condemning the law.
Photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.377889628905236.99154.169042736456594&type=1

AllOut.org also produced a viral video that had over 300,000+ views on YouTube that expressed a simple message urging Governor Poltavchenko to veto the law: “Pass the law, and we won’t go there.”
Video: http://allout.org/actions/stpetersburg-dont-go/

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AllOut.org is a global campaign organization of over 800,000 people from 190 countries around the world dedicated to LGBT equality. A movement working online and on the ground to build a world in which everyone can live freely and be embraced for who they are, All Out is adding global people power to the historic fight for LGBT equality.