Reports are emerging of the tragic suicide today of a Rutgers freshman who jumped off the George Washington Bridge, after classmates without his knowledge broadcast on the internet video of him in an encounter with another male (New Jersey Star-Ledger, North Jersey Record).
This is on the heels of similar tragedies in California and Texas.
Our hearts go out to the student and his family. It's our hope that as more states pass protections such as the Dignity for All Students Act, more students and communities will become aware of the life-threatening costs of this kind of bullying and harassment.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
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2 comments:
This is so heartbreaking. His death was totally unnecessary.
Click http://afsp.donordrive.com/participant/ren to donate to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention so that you can play a role in preventing something so horrific from happening to another family.
Where is the President on this? When it comes to the rights for Muslims to build a Mosque in NYC, or the rights of illegal immigrants to reside in the US without proper papers, or an incident with the police preventing a black man who refused to provide identification into a house that appears to have been burglarized- President Obama chose to make himself front and center, championing Freedom of Religion and our nations founding principles to treat all people with respect and equality.
Yet once again, when it comes to LGBT people the President is silent. Gay kids committing suicide over the shame of being outed... That shame stems from living in a society that doesn't respect our relationships as being equal and legitimate, a point repeated by President Obama in his opposition to gay marriage. Young gay kids are growing up listening to this debate and to have a President who claims to be a champion of civil rights, to in affect tell these kids they are not equal, do not deserve marriage equality as apart of their future, makes President Obama a culprit in gay teen suicide.
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