Imagine a world where "gay" was "straight" and "straight" was "gay"... How Would You Live If You Couldn't Love? (19:13)

A beautiful short film centered around themes of childhood bullying, community intolerance, and bigotry from within one's own family that is a lot more affecting than one might expect at first from the deceptively kitchy concept.

posted by Blasdelb on Apr 26, 2013 - 18 comments

A teacher, a student and a 39-year-long lesson in forgiveness
posted by IvoShandor on Apr 22, 2012 - 35 comments

A very touching letter. From the mother of a gay teen about his response to the post on the blog Single Dad Laughing titled I’m Christian, unless you’re gay.
posted by Long Way To Go on Apr 4, 2012 - 96 comments

A Michigander questions why an anti-bullying legislation became instead a bully protection tool. "On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled state senate passed an anti-bullying bill that manages to protect school bullies instead of those they victimize. It accomplishes this impressive feat by allowing students, teachers, and other school employees to claim that 'a sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction' justifies their harassment." [more inside]
posted by TheGoodBlood on Nov 7, 2011 - 137 comments

He's usually kinda funny. Not this time. Rick Mercer's rants are well known in Canada. They're hilarious, though biting. What set him off? The suicide of Jamie Hubley, a 15 year old kid who liked to cover Lady Gaga, among others. [more inside]
posted by kneecapped on Oct 26, 2011 - 67 comments

The Teen Suicide Epidemic in Michele Bachmann's District. Minnesota's largest school district, Anoka-Hennepin, has been declared a "suicide contagion area" due to its teen suicide rate. Some point blame at the aggressive anti-gay tactics of Michele Bachmann's allies in the district (coincidentally, Bachmann's husband is an uncertified therapist who runs a clinic offering "reparative therapy" and calls gay people "barbarians" who need to be "disciplined," as previously discussed on MetaFilter). [via]
posted by infinitywaltz on Jul 27, 2011 - 148 comments

Coming Out: Audio, Photos, and Stories of Gay Teens (NYTimes) [more inside]
posted by hermitosis on May 26, 2011 - 14 comments

Echoing the brutality of the Matthew Shepard case, a Texas teenager blames his slaying of classmate Josh Wilkerson on unwanted gay advances. (He has also been charged with failing to identify himself and attempting to take a weapon from an officer.) While the "gay panic" defense is often considered something of a joke, it's clearly still very much alive.
posted by hermitosis on Nov 18, 2010 - 53 comments

Add some purple to your outfit today! October 20th is LBGTQ Spirit Day. Show your pride by remembering those who have taken their lives because of gay bullying
posted by WhiteWhale on Oct 19, 2010 - 140 comments

Want to know what your old high school is doing to protect and support its LGBTQ students? Write Your Principal encourages and collects correspondence about anti-bullying efforts between alumni and their alma maters. [via projects]
posted by lalex on Oct 18, 2010 - 17 comments

A message to small-town high school bullies: you now risk being made an example of across the entire nation.
posted by hermitosis on Oct 15, 2010 - 99 comments

Fort Worth city councilman Joel Burns shares his own anti-LGBT bullying story before Fort Worth city council this past Tuesday. [via Victory Fund] This is yet another successful video of Dan Savage's It Gets Better campaign. [previously]
posted by Mike Mongo on Oct 13, 2010 - 58 comments