In Iowa: Five Suicides in Five Years at the same High School over Gay Bullying

Another teen took his life because of gay bullying. But the truly sad thing about all of this is, he is the fifth suicide from the same school.

16-year-old AJ Betts was a student at Pleasant Hill, Iowa’s Southeast Polk High School. When he was outed, he was harassed regularly until he took matters into his own hands.

Interesting enough, AJ helped many gay teens throughout their struggles in school. But I guess he didn't have someone to help him process what was going on with him. AJ's suicide is the 5th one in 5 years. So I have to ask, "What's going on there?"

Why are these students suffering like this? And, what are the staff and administrators doing to help these students? They should be ashamed of this outcome and the behavior of these bullies. I really hope that AJ's family hold this school accountable for this. This has to stop.

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In Russia: LGBT Teens are being publicly Bullied and Tortured by Neo Nazis on Video

This is disheartening to watch

Matt Barber: CA Law will tell Minor Victims of Sexual Abuse that They're Gay or Trans

The Harsh Reality about our LGBT Youth

New research reveals some tough matters besetting many of our LGBT youth. Here are a few pieces:

• Gay, transgender, and gender nonconforming youth are significantly over-represented in the juvenile justice system—approximately 300,000 gay and transgender youth are arrested and/or detained each year, of which more than 60 percent are black or Latino. Though gay and transgender youth represent just 5 percent to 7 percent of the nation’s overall youth population, they compose 13 percent to 15 percent of those currently in the juvenile justice system.

•  Research shows that gay and transgender youth entering into the juvenile justice system are twice as likely to have experienced family conflict, child abuse, and homelessness as other youth. 

•  Programs designed to keep children and youth off the streets, such as foster care, health centers, and other youth-serving institutions, are often ill-prepared or unsafe for gay and transgender youth due to institutional prejudice, lack of provider and foster-parent training, and discrimination against gay and transgender youth by adults and peers. As a result, many youth run away from these placements, actions that could also land them in the custody of the juvenile justice system.

•  Out of despair and a need for survival, homeless gay and transgender youth are more likely to resort to criminal behaviors, such as drug sales, theft, or “survival sex,” which put them at risk of arrest and detainment.

Please go here to read more of the research.

In Texas: Teen lesbian couple found shot in a Park

This is horrible

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Brandon Elizares, 16, took his life

16-year-old Brandon Elizares took his life because of bullying. The Andres High School student committed suicide on Saturday, he was found by his mother.

Here's more info from KFOX14

KFOX14 News spoke Elizares's friends and mother, Zachalyn Elizares, at her Northeast home on Friday, and she said that her son was bullied at school for two years because he did not want to hide the fact that he was gay.

"He got bullied simply for being gay," Elizares said. "He's been threatened to be stabbed. He's been threatened to be set on fire."

Elizares said the El Paso Independent school district did everything it could to help solve the problem.

"They've reprimanded several kids and they did everything that they could," Elizares said.
I really want the kids to hang in there. Death is not an option, survival and perseverance are key.

New Poll: Many LGBT Teens are Unhappy

Human Rights Campaign has gathered some incredible info about LGBT teens and it's not so great. They face some interesting odds that impact their well-being.

The Advocate reports

Some 67% of straight kids described themselves as happy, but only 37% of LGBT kids could say the same, found the report from the Human Rights Campaign. They do seem to believe that "It Gets Better," as the viral video campaign targeting them has promised. The survey found that 83% of LGBT youth believe they will one day be happy.

For many, the road to happiness leads out of town. The survey found that only 49% said they could be happy wherever they live now. And that could have a lot to do with how they describe their current circumstances.

Although 56% said they are out to their families, a third of respondents said their family is not accepting of them. More than half of LGBT youth said they'd been verbally harassed, and 47% said they don't "fit in." By comparison, just 25% of straight student said they'd been called names and 16% of straight youth said they didn't fit in.

I really thought things would be different for them in 2012. While they are optimistic for the future, they are still carrying a heavy burden.

I feel like we have barely moved forward from the days when I was a teen.

Read the full report here

In Kentucky: A Gay Couple is Banned from Prom - WATCH

Darnell “Dynasty” Young has been expelled

Yesterday, Darnell was expelled from school. His family found out late last night that he was expelled until January 2013.

He will miss months of school and I'm not sure if he has alternative school as an option.

Indystar.com reports:

"I couldn’t believe that they did it," Grimes said. "They really kicked him out."
Grimes and Young can appeal to the Indianapolis Public Schools school board and the courts if necessary, but Grimes said they're still weighing their options. Young said he plans to get his GED and go to college.

Well, if he's expelled, what about the 6 kids who bullied him? What's their punishment?

Glee's Karofsky saved lives... For Real

I don't watch Glee, but this scene did something to me. It was a reminder that many teens are struggling everyday to keep going.

This scene was quite powerful, check it out

Th good side of my post is how this particular episode of Glee saved lives.

EW reports

 The episode of the Fox hit led to a record number of traffic for the organization’s website and phone number. “What was great about the show is that they worked in conjunction with us so we knew in advance that there was going to in all likelihood be an increase in volume,” says cofounder Peggy Rajski. “What happened was the volume went up about 300 percent, but we were ready.”

Rajski says the Trevor Project toll-free number fielded triple the number of calls normally received, plus a huge online boost. “On average, our site probably attracts about an average of 1500 visits a day,” she admits. “Tuesday we got 10,000. There’s the power of network TV.”

Wow!

In Tennessee: Christian Right Backs 'License to Bully' Bill - WATCH

Lord, my homestate needs help!

Interesting Quote: Carl Siciliano

To be a homeless LGBT youth in New York City means battling the cold, desperate to find somewhere warm and dry at night, knowing it would be a catastrophe if your shoes and clothes get wet. It means being exhausted, suffering chronic sleep deprivation as you try with little success to rest on the subways and train stations and on the streets. It means being terrified, afraid that the police will kick you out of the subway cars and train stations, afraid of violence when you have to sell your body, afraid that you will be beaten or robbed while trying to sleep on park benches or under bridges. To be a homeless LGBT youth in New York City all to frequently means being hungry, forsaken, alone, brutalized.


Is there a more terrible expression of homophobia in our times than tens of thousands of teens being cast out of their homes and made homeless in our streets? How horrible it is that kids are made to experience such brutal abuse, just for being who they are? I believe that these youths are, without ever intending to be, unsung heroes of the LGBT movement. They are heroic because of the terrible price they pay for their honesty.

Carl is the Executive Director, Ali Forney Center in NYC. Please read his entire piece here and check out the pictures of our homeless LGBT teens.

In West Virginia: School Board take action to Protect LGBT Students

The West Virginia Board of Education passed a new bullying policy to protect LGBT students.

Metro Weekly has the story:

As Fairness West Virginia announced on Facebook, "Policy 4373 passes! LGBT students expressly protected from bullying under WV state board[.] The decision was unanimous." The group says the move constitutes the first time that sexual orientation and gender identity were included in the state's anti-bullying policies.


Fairness West Virginia executive director Bradley Milam told Metro Weekly, "We put our whole weight behind this policy, we supported it through and through. We met with the Department of Education ... and had recommended enumation very similar to the kind that's in Policy 4373 that was approved today."

In the new policy's definitions of "Harassment/Bullying/Intimidation," which the policy prohibits, it specifies, "Acts of harassment, intimidation, or bullying that are reasonably perceived as being motivated by any actual or perceived differentiating characteristic, or by association with a person who has or is perceived to have one or more of these characteristics, shall be reported using the following list: race; color; religion; ancestry; national origin; gender; socioeconomic status; academic status; gender identity or expression; physical appearance; sexual orientation; mental/physical/developmental/ sensory disability; or other characteristic."

This is very good and a little surprising coming from the WV.

Students suspended for bullying Jamey Rodemeyer

The students involved with bullying Jamey Rodemeyer have been suspended from school.

NYT has more on the story:

The Williamsville Central School District suspended several teens last week following a criminal investigation into Rodemeyer's September suicide, the Buffalo News reported.

The suspensions came after Amherst town police failed to find enough evidence to charge the students who made the vicious taunts.

"[The police\] shared some information with us, and we followed up," Superintendent Scott Martzloff told the Buffalo News.

Martzloff wouldn't say how many were suspended, or provide any names. The teens were likely to be barred from school for up to five days, the News reported.

I'm sorry, but this is not enough. More should happen to these students. They need to be held accountable for this. Jamey is dead because their ignorance and stupidity. Receiving this slap on the wrist sends a message that nothing will happen and nothing will get better. I hope other students start speaking out on this issue and push for stronger protections in school. These suspensions are unacceptable.

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Lady Gaga Creates Born This Way Foundation

Lady Gaga is practicing what she preaches. She has created a foundation to support the youth.

The Grammy-winning singer announced Wednesday that she is launching the Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit focusing on youth empowerment and "issues like self-confidence, well-being, anti-bullying, mentoring and career development."

Gaga's partners include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the California Endowment and the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

The foundation will be directed by the 25-year-old singer and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta.
"Together we hope to establish a standard of Bravery and Kindness, as well as a community worldwide that protects and nurtures others in the face of bullying and abandonment," Gaga said in a statement.

I applaud her for this, hopefully this can change things.

 

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Police consider Criminal Bullying Charges in the death of Jamey Rodemeyer

Police will look closely at the death of Jamey Rodemeyer. They have opened a criminal investigation to see if charges can be applied for the online bullying.

The Amherst Police Department's Special Victims Unit has said it will determine whether to charge some students with harassment, cyber-harassment or hate crimes. Police said three students in particular might have been involved. Jamey was a student at Heim Middle School.


Jamey had just started his freshman year at Williamsville North High School. (Both Amherst and Williamsville are just outside Buffalo.) But the bullying had begun during middle school, according to his parents. He had told family and friends that he had endured hateful comments in school and online, mostly related to his sexual orientation.

Jamey's Facebook is still receiving hateful comments. It's really sad that these incidents continue to haunt our youth. 

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A Preview of the Gay Teen Bullying Comic 'The Power Within'

I did a post about the comic book called, 'The Power Within' a couple of months ago. It's about gay teen bullying and the power this young man has.

I was lucky to get a copy at Comic Con and I have to say it's a great read.

Here are some pages:

 If you can, please get a copy.

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Gay Teen Suicides Are High in Michele Bachmann's District

Michele Bachmann has some explaining to do. In her school district, 9 students has taken their lives due to bullying. So far, Michele hasn't done anything to address this issue:

The situation in Anoka-Hennepin Schools is so bad that Minnesota public health officials have deemed the area a "suicide contagion" because of the unusually high number of suicides and attempted suicides, according to the school district's website.

Bachmann has since stayed quiet on the issue. She didn't respond to inquiries from Mother Jones or the New York Daily News.

She historically wasn't a supporter of anti-bullying legislation. In 2004, she took part in a rally that pushed for the ban of gay marriage, according to the New York Daily News. Slate reports that in 2006, she said passing a bill that prevents bullying wasn't worth the time.

"I think for all of us, our experience in public schools is there have always been bullies," Slate reports Bachmann telling the Minnesota state legislature. "Always have been, always will be. I just don't know how we're ever going to get to the point of zero tolerance... What does it mean? ... Will we be expecting boys to be girls?"

Critics are arguing that Bachmann's impassiveness for bullying issues, her opposition to gay rights alongside Anoka-Hennepin Schools' controversial policy on teaching or talking about sexual orientation, creates a threatening environment for at-risk youth in the district.

She better get on it soon, because it will hurt her in the presidential race.

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WATCH: Civil Rights Groups Plan To Sue Minn. School District Over Curriculum Policy On Sexual Orientation

Coming Soon: MTV's True Life: I'm Trying to be Straight

I never thought I would see this True Life episode.

Here's the summary of this story:

What if you've expressed your sexuality in the same way for your entire adult life - but then decide to change your orientation completely? On this episode of True Life you'll meet two young people who once considered themselves gay. and now are doing everything they can to be straight. 


Kevin cannot deny his sexual attraction to men, but has sworn off same sex relationships because of the pain it caused him and his devoutly religious family. Kevin believes that with the help of a therapist, supportive friends, and his own willpower he can redirect his urges and be embraced once more by his parents - and his church. Will Kevin control his impulses and achieve what he considers to be the more traditional American dream? 


Melanie has always preferred dating girls - but ever since a violent confrontation with her disapproving mother, Melanie's been making drastic adjustments to her lifestyle. She's now juggling multiple heterosexual relationships - which is helping her reconnect with her once estranged family - even though she's suppressing deeply felt desires. Will Melanie ultimately give into temptation and risk losing everything again? 


They're trying to find the path to inner peace. Have they reached self acceptance or are they simply in denial? Find out on True Life: I'm Trying to be Straight.

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