Join The Human Rights Campaign To Stop Bullying In Schools

As a kid, you could say I had the trifecta of reasons to be picked on.  I was fat, usually 6 inches taller and 60-70 pounds heavier than the other kids in my class.  I was a Jehovah's Witness, and I was different than the other straight boys.  I wasn't into sports.  I was into music and fashion.  When everyone else was in auto mechanics class, I was trying to get into cosmetology classes.

I wasn't sure about my sexual orientation until I was in my 20s.  In my teens, I thought I was straight.  Unfortunately, I cannot count how many times I was called "fag" or "faggot" by other kids in school.  I was beat up on a regular basis.  I was tormented.  It was if I was tortured.

For years, I contemplated suicide on a daily basis.  I thought it was the only way I could escape what I was going through.  That was 20 years ago.  Things got better.  I'm still here.  Sadly, I had friends that aren't with us any longer.  The harassment was just too much for them to take.

Things are just as bad for todays LGBT youth as they were when I was younger.  Kids can be mean, heartless and cruel.  Teachers turn a blind eye to what happens inside and outside their classroom.  Kids are dieing at an alarming rate.

Something has to change.  This must stop now.  The Human Rights Campaign has a petition being sent to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, demanding that all schools include gender identity and sexual orientation as part of their anti-bullying programs.  The current situation is unacceptable.  Please go to the link and sign this petition.  You can also get information on how to write an editorial letter to your local paper.

Get involved.  Help these kids.