Just this past month 5 more gay or gay-perceived teens committed suicide in this country.
The National Organization for Marriage (NOM), run by Maggie Gallagher and her sidekick, Brian Brown, has spent tens of millions of dollars in the past three years to bully and bash lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people and anyone who dares to support their full equality. Everything NOM does only furthers hate and homophobia.
Yesterday Maggie finally weighed in on the suicide of Tyler Clementi, one of the most recent of five young men who took their own lives last month. She had the gall to say, "Nothing in the press accounts suggest the kids who did this were motivated by homophobia."
Big hearted Maggie and the wealthy mystery backers of NOM say they care deeply about children.
Then stop the vicious attacks. Stop the bullying. Let all people live their lives honestly and openly.
NOM's Real LGBT Agenda
On April 10, 2010, at a NOM program in New Orleans run by Brian Brown, the only other speaker was Thomas Messner, a NOM consultant and Visiting Richard and Helen DeVos Fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
Messner was the first to speak the truth about NOM's real agenda when he said:
"Gay marriage legitimizes homosexuality."
That is exactly what NOM wants to prevent, period. Its purpose is to make LGBTQ people feel inferior and inflame homophobia under the guise of stopping gay marriage. We must not let them succeed; too many lives are at stake.
The 5 Most Recent Victims
Billy Lucas, 15 years old, died September 9, 2010.
Billy had been harassed at his Indiana school for many years. The day before his suicide, there was an alleged incident where he was bullied again at lunch, and was told him to go hang himself. He hanged himself in his barn next to his beloved horses the very next day.
Seth Walsh, 13 years old, died September 19, 2010.
After repeated bullying from other students in his Tehachapi, California hometown, Seth hanged himself from a tree in his backyard. After nine days in a coma, he died on Sept 19th. Police said after questioning the students who may have been involved, many broke down in tears, never expecting such an outcome.
Tyler Clementi, 18 years old, died September 22, 2010.
Tyler was a gifted musician and freshman at Rutgers University.
He killed himself after his roommate secretly recorded him with another male student, and then the video was broadcast online. His last words, posted on his Facebook account 10 minutes before his death, were chilling, "Jumping off the gw bridge sorry."
Asher Brown, 13 years old, died September 23, 2010.
Asher shot himself to death after excessive anti-gay bullying apparently isolated him from classmates in his Houston school. Frustrated by the continued harassment and lack of support at school, he took his life the following day.
Raymond Chase, 19 years old, died September 29, 2010.
Raymond was an openly gay sophomore at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. He hanged himself in his dorm room after repeated bullying.
Help Stop NOM
Go to the wonderful new web site set up by the HRC and Courage Campaign, http://nomexposed.org and take action today.
NOM must be stopped before one more child is hurt.
Follow Fred Karger on Twitter: www.twitter.com/fredkarger
Gareth Higgins: Tyler Clementi's Death: We're All Part of the Problem
Rev. Patrick S. Cheng, Ph.D.: Faith, Hope and Love: Ending LGBT Teen Suicide
Rev. James Martin, S.J.: 'A Prayer When I Feel Hated': Helping Prevent Gay Teen Suicide
Rev. Dr. Janet Edwards: Gay Teen Suicides: People of Faith, Step Up for Our Youth!
Mike Bogdanski
America's ANTI Bully
www.mikebogdanski.com
LGBT citizens are aware that the majority of their fellow citizens - the MAJORITY - feel that it is perfectly OK to treat LGBT citizens unfairly via the law. Heterosexuals actually take it upon themselves to enter a voting booth to restrict and limit our freedoms and our lives. They do this for 1 reason and 1 reason only - to keep us marginalized and disadvantaged. To tell us, via their vote, that they do not like us, their very own offspring, and that they intend to abuse and degrade us for our entire lives. That is their true intention. All other arguments are lies. Their intention is to keep us down. Any LGBT citizen knows this.
That is difficult enough to deal with. But to wrap up that bigotry with a pretty bow and call it morality, while their gay children suffer and are abused and brutalized, is most despicable.
How many children must die by their own hands before heterosexuals will stop this madness? How many is enough? 100? 200? 1,000?
Or do they not stop until they have been so successful in beating us down that we no longer care about our lives at all?
Seriously, heterosexual America. When have you had enough? When will you stop this? What makes you think this is OK?
How do you reconcile this with your soul, your spirit,
The death rate is at least several hundred young gay men each month. Most of those suicides are because the young men are taught that being gay is unacceptable to their religion and/or their family. When the preachers and parents participate in the bullying, they youth are unable to adjust, and some use suicide as a way to escape.
Blame the preachers, not the kids.
father rejected me. They learned this from their church. They never attempted to contact PFLAG (parents/friends of gays/lesbians) . To do so would have been against what the church told them. So they would rather deny their own flesh , than question that maybe there is another way to think. I was under the care of a therapist and medications for some time to prevent suicide. I am now medication free. My father developed Alzheimer's and as his brain deteriorated, so did the prejudice. He eventually told me how proud of me he was and he loved me. Mom is 82 and still tells me how disappointed she is in me (I received my doctorate in 1983). I gave up my life 5 years ago to move back and help take care of her as she ages. Her church still tells her how sinful I am and that I will be going to hell. I find it extremely sad that an organization, be it church, NOM or anybody else, can not find the decency to extend acceptance to people who are different. She will die alienated from her son. I have made peace with my Creator and have found a loving, accepting church home that my mother continues to reject.
For years, my mother would not discuss my being lesbian. I entered into a straight marriage to try to "cure" myself (hint: it doesn't work). Finally, 27 years after divorcing, I met a wonderful lady and we were married in Canada in 2007. My mother was there to see us married. When I asked what had made her change her mind she said, "I don't have much time left. When I die, I want to die knowing you are happy. If marrying a woman makes you happy, then so be it." She fully accepted my spouse as a daughter-in-law.
It is so sad that some parents cannot see that to be happy, some of their children need to be in a same-sex relationship. This refusal to see and the hatred too many have for GLBT people is passed onto those who then bully their GLBT peers. The cycle of hate has to stop. How wonderful that your father shed his prejudice and told you that he loved you! I was lucky that my mother saw the light before she passed on. I hope your mother will one day see it as well. My mum was 90 when she saw the light, so there is still hope.