youth
14-year-old asks Maryland lawmakers to vote against gay marriage [audio]
In this audio clip, a girl visits the Maryland’s Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on her 14th birthday and asks lawmakers to vote against same-sex marriage.
“…I really feel bad for the kids who have two parents of the same gender. They have no idea what kind of wonderful experiences they miss out on…”
(via ThinkProgress, Peter Frank)
Gay California teen Eric James Borges commits suicide, weeks after posting an It Gets Better video
This is Eric James Borges. He posted this It Gets Better video last month. Yesterday, he committed suicide. Eric, 19, was an intern with the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization for LGBT youth.
Jim Reeves, Vice President of Queer Landia, had met Eric personally. He reports about his suicide:
Word began spreading late Wednesday among shocked and saddened friends and acquaintances. Not accepted by his birth family, EricJames was striking out on his own, trying to deal with his personal situation, but also wanting to help others. Sadly, even involvement with the Trevor Project was not enough to help him navigate the turbulent waters of young adulthood.
Update: Stephnie Davison, a classmate and good friend of Eric’s responded to this blog post by sharing a bit about Eric:
He was an amazing person who was bullied throughout his entire life. He was beaten at home for being gay and kicked out multiple times. His mother never approved of him being himself. When he tried to be Eric, he couldn’t. He was an artist, a friend, a boyfriend, and a truly amazing individual. EricJames Borges will always be remembered and he was my friend.
[…]
His mother disowned him, and refuses to talk to him. I’m not sure that she knows he even committed suicide tbh.
8 year old tells Michele Bachmann: “My mommy’s gay but she doesn’t need any fixing.”
“Video of Michele Bachmann trying to get her photo op in with my 8 year old son. It’s hard to hear but he leans in and tells her that his mom is gay and she doesn’t need fixing. GO ELIJAH! Love that look of shock she gets.”
What tips would you give to someone planning on coming out to their grandparents or other older relatives?
It Gets Better by Allie Osterloh
An illustration created by Allie Osterloh for Spirit Day 2011.
MyAcceptance.org tells stories of LGBT people, two photos at a time
MyAcceptance.org, a new photo essay project, is documenting members of the LGBT community — two photos at a time. The one on the left representing how they’ve felt in the past and the one on the right representing how they feel now.
Much like the It Gets Better campaign, the goal of the project is “to give hope to those out there that are struggling in their lives, those who feel like they’re alone and that there’s no one to turn to.”
The project also invites people to participate by submitting their own photos.
Learn more about the project and view the photos at MyAcceptance.org.
(Photo: Parker Austin)
![Man kills 4-year-old on assumption that he is gay
A North Carolina man is accused of killing a 4-year-old boy on the assumption that he is gay, according to WRAL.
Peter Lucas Moses, 27, led a “religious” group of women and children and according to the report, they feared him.
Moses shot 4-year-old Jadon Higganbothan in the head in fear that the child was gay. According to prosecutors, Moses assumed that the child might be gay because his father had left his mother. He told the mother, Vania Rae Sisk, to “get rid” of the child.
Prosecutors said that Larhonda Renee Smith, 40, told Moses that Jadon had hit another child’s bottom. After hearing this, Moses became angry and started walking around the house with a gun. Later, she told him that he had hit another child’s bottom.
“He starts screaming, ‘I told you to get rid of him!’” and told Sisk, “‘How am I going to do this?’” [District Attorney Tracy Cline] recalled the witness’ account.
Moses ordered two of the women to set up computers and speakers in the garage, prosecutors said they were told by the witness. They said he started playing music with the Lord’s Prayer in Hebrew, took Jadon in the garage and shut the door, and the women then heard a gunshot.
Prosecutors said the witness told them that the women helped clean up the body of Jadon, who had been shot in the head, and put it in a suitcase in Moses’ master suite. He later told them to get the body out because it was beginning to smell, prosecutors said.
Moses also killed Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, 28, after he learned that she couldn’t have children and wanted to leave the group.
Sisk, Smith, and Lavada Harris face charges of first-degree murder for McKoy’s death and accessories in Jardon’s death.
(Photo: WRAL)](http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lo35rh7KqS1qacar6o1_500.jpg)
Man kills 4-year-old on assumption that he is gay
A North Carolina man is accused of killing a 4-year-old boy on the assumption that he is gay, according to WRAL.
Peter Lucas Moses, 27, led a “religious” group of women and children and according to the report, they feared him.
Moses shot 4-year-old Jadon Higganbothan in the head in fear that the child was gay. According to prosecutors, Moses assumed that the child might be gay because his father had left his mother. He told the mother, Vania Rae Sisk, to “get rid” of the child.
Prosecutors said that Larhonda Renee Smith, 40, told Moses that Jadon had hit another child’s bottom. After hearing this, Moses became angry and started walking around the house with a gun. Later, she told him that he had hit another child’s bottom.
“He starts screaming, ‘I told you to get rid of him!’” and told Sisk, “‘How am I going to do this?’” [District Attorney Tracy Cline] recalled the witness’ account.
Moses ordered two of the women to set up computers and speakers in the garage, prosecutors said they were told by the witness. They said he started playing music with the Lord’s Prayer in Hebrew, took Jadon in the garage and shut the door, and the women then heard a gunshot.
Prosecutors said the witness told them that the women helped clean up the body of Jadon, who had been shot in the head, and put it in a suitcase in Moses’ master suite. He later told them to get the body out because it was beginning to smell, prosecutors said.
Moses also killed Antoinetta Yvonne McKoy, 28, after he learned that she couldn’t have children and wanted to leave the group.
Sisk, Smith, and Lavada Harris face charges of first-degree murder for McKoy’s death and accessories in Jardon’s death.
(Photo: WRAL)
Five-year-old biological male becomes adamant about being female [video]
Parents of a transgender child discuss dealing with gender identity issues. I find the struggles of the Father here to be especially difficult. He’s clearly gone on a journey throughout this whole process, but realises that difficulties may still come about in what is often an intolerant society. Hailey is lucky to be blessed with such supportive parents and they are equally lucky to with blessed with her. - Via gay .org.uk
