Seth Walsh should be getting ready for school this morning.
He should be texting his friends. Worrying about his hair. Playing PS3. Planning his future, like any other 13-year-old.
Instead, Seth is dead.
After being bullied, taunted, and accused of being gay, Seth finally had enough. On September 19, this beautiful, seemingly happy and artistic California youth tied a rope around his neck and hung himself from a tree in his own backyard.
He died just last week, after spending 9 days in a coma.
Investigators who interviewed the teenagers who taunted Seth for being gay concluded that no crime was committed.
I vehemently disagree. And if you do too, we need your support.
Because sadly, Seth isn’t the only one. In the last few weeks alone, we’ve learned of four gay youth who have killed themselves – all after being the victims of homophobic harassment and/or bullying. For example, Seth died just days after a Texas teen,Asher Brown, shot himself over anti-gay bullying; a Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi, jumped off a bridge in New Jersey after a sexual encounter with a man was broadcast on-line; and Billy Lucas from Indiana hung himself in his barn after repeated bullying at his school.
These incidents are not isolated. We're experiencing an anti-gay bullying epidemic, and it must be addressed. In Los Angeles, it is estimated that up to 4,000 LGBT youth live on the streets because they have fled or have been kicked out of their homes. Many have experienced the type of bullying that resulted in the deaths of these four teenagers and find themselves at the Center seeking our help.
He should be texting his friends. Worrying about his hair. Playing PS3. Planning his future, like any other 13-year-old.
Instead, Seth is dead.
After being bullied, taunted, and accused of being gay, Seth finally had enough. On September 19, this beautiful, seemingly happy and artistic California youth tied a rope around his neck and hung himself from a tree in his own backyard.
He died just last week, after spending 9 days in a coma.
Investigators who interviewed the teenagers who taunted Seth for being gay concluded that no crime was committed.
I vehemently disagree. And if you do too, we need your support.
Because sadly, Seth isn’t the only one. In the last few weeks alone, we’ve learned of four gay youth who have killed themselves – all after being the victims of homophobic harassment and/or bullying. For example, Seth died just days after a Texas teen,Asher Brown, shot himself over anti-gay bullying; a Rutgers University student, Tyler Clementi, jumped off a bridge in New Jersey after a sexual encounter with a man was broadcast on-line; and Billy Lucas from Indiana hung himself in his barn after repeated bullying at his school.
These incidents are not isolated. We're experiencing an anti-gay bullying epidemic, and it must be addressed. In Los Angeles, it is estimated that up to 4,000 LGBT youth live on the streets because they have fled or have been kicked out of their homes. Many have experienced the type of bullying that resulted in the deaths of these four teenagers and find themselves at the Center seeking our help.
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