OMG - Yet Another Gay Teen Suicide

Words do not properly convey the sadness I feel at the news of yet another gay teen suicide. Or the anger and rage at those responsible for creating and maintaining an atmosphere where LGBT youth feel that suicide is their best option. The catalyst in this case seems to have been the flood on anti-gay bile hurled at the Norman, Oklahoma city council for considering October as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History Month in the city. 19 year old Zach Harrington (pictured at right) attended the city council hearing and heard it all. As much as Maggie Gallagher, et al, disclaim that they are responsible for such tragic losses of life, the sad reality is that gay teens ARE listening to what is said about LGBT individuals by typically Christianists who demand that only their religious view of life and marriage be reflected in the civil laws of the nation and its municipalities. Again, I say to Gallagher, Benedict XVI, the leaders of the Mormon Church, and other fomenters of anti-gay hatred that they have blood on their hands just as surely as if they had tightened the noose, pulled the trigger or handed these dead teens a bottle of pills to overdose. The question is, when will the media grow some balls and treat Ms. Gallagher, Benedict XVI, Tony Perkins and those of similar ilk like the monsters they are in fact? Here are highlights from the Norman Transcript:
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A week after attending a Norman City Council meeting where a heated debate played out in public, 19-year-old Zach Harrington took his own life at his family’s home in Norman.
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At the Sept. 28 meeting Harrington attended at City Hall, the council acknowledged receipt of a proclamation recognizing October as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender History Month in the city. Council voted 7 to 1 in favor of it, with only Councilman Dan Quinn casting a nay vote.
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One man said he moved to Norman because he thought it was the kind of place that would never accept the GLBT community with open arms. A woman, who described herself as “bi-racial,” said she was tired of the GLBT plight being compared to Civil Rights.
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Some of those who opposed the proclamation claimed that members of the GLBT community would use it to infiltrate the public school system, essentially allowing the “gay lifestyle” to become a part of the curriculum.
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Others claimed that council recognizing October as GLBT History Month was a waste of their time. Some members of the audience even suggested that any council members voting in favor of the proclamation may have trouble getting reelected. Numerous residents also claimed the Bible was their guiding light, citing the ancient text as their primary reason for opposing the proclamation and the GLBT community in general.
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Even most council members admitted that a majority of the e-mails and phone calls they fielded regarding the proclamation were against it.
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Harrington’s father, Van, said he wasn’t sure why his son went to the meeting, especially after his experiences in Norman once he revealed that he was gay as a teenager. He said he feels his son may have glimpsed a hard reality at the Sept. 28 council meeting, a place where the same sentiments that quietly tormented him in high school were being shouted out and applauded by adults the same age as his own parents.
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“I don’t think it was a place where he would hear something to make him feel more accepted by the community,” he said. “For somebody like Zach, it (the meeting) was probably very hard to sit through.”
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Both Nikki and Van said they hope people will think about the things they say in public. Both feel that words can do more than hurt feelings, especially when they come from our friends and neighbors. “When we talk about our feelings in a hypothetical way and we send our toxic thoughts out in a public setting that way, they will affect people in a negative way,” Nikki said. “People need to think about the things they are saying and ask themselves, ‘Is this right?’”
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If there is a Hell, I truly believe Gallagher and those like her have special places saved for them. And as for the Bible being called "the Good Book," I see nothing good about it. Through history it has cost literally millions their lives needlessly. I feel the world would be a better place if it had never been written.