Blogger takes a nasty shot at Tyler Clementi

If this doesn't tick you off, check your pulse:

That tweet is by Bob Owens, conservative blogger and Washington Examiner contributor.

But really this isn't a situation about conservative or liberal. It's one of common decency.

Tyler Clementi killed himself because he was humiliated beyond belief. Seems to me that we need to focus on solutions so that our children, whether they be lgbt or straight, are not put into a position where they feel the need to end it all.

That would be the decent, human thing to do.

Instead, Owens seems to taken advantage of the situation to be ignorant and self-righteous. His First Amendment right is immaterial. Owens certainly has a right to say what he feels. And I have that same right to call him an inconsiderate, hateful dumbass.



Hat tip to Media Matters.

Religious right determined to stop anti-bullying policies and other Monday midday news briefs

In Minnesota, Religious Right Fights Anti-Bullying Policies, GSA’s - When it's all said and done, what the religious right is doing in the wake of lgbt youth suicides will come back to haunt them.

Comedian Kevin Hart on 'preventing' his two-year-old son from being gay - Just when I thought Hart couldn't do any worse than the movie Soul Plane, he comes across with this "gem." Oh yeah, beating up on a child because you are worried that he is gay. Where have we seen this before?

Student teacher says Beaverton School District discriminated against him - And while we are at it, let's get rid of the potential role models too.

Exodus’ New Book Substitutes Fear for Faith While Undermining the Armed Services - Exodus International continues to lie on lgbts.

Growing Backlash Against Kenyan Gov’t Minister Who Called for Gay Acceptance - This ain't good.

Schwarzenegger expands unemployment benefits for gay couples - Let's close this out with some good news.

New York Times looks at rash of recent suicides

The New York Times had an excellent write up on the recent rash of gay teen suicides as well as showcasing how members of the lgbt community are trying to prevent more. And while I hate to admit it, the best part of the article is that the Times didn't feel the need to seek comments from Focus on the Family or any of those other phony moral values group for some sake of false parity:

When Seth Walsh was in the sixth grade, he turned to his mother one day and told her he had something to say.

“I was folding clothes, and he said, ‘Mom, I’m gay,’ ” said Wendy Walsh, a hairstylist and single mother of four. “I said, ‘O.K., sweetheart, I love you no matter what.’ ”

But last month, Seth went into the backyard of his home in the desert town of Tehachapi, Calif., and hanged himself, apparently unable to bear a relentless barrage of taunting, bullying and other abuse at the hands of his peers. After a little more than a week on life support, he died last Tuesday. He was 13.

The case of Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers University freshman who jumped off the George Washington Bridge after a sexual encounter with another man was broadcast online, has shocked many. But his death is just one of several suicides in recent weeks by young gay teenagers who had been harassed by classmates, both in person and online.

The list includes Billy Lucas, a 15-year-old from Greensburg, Ind., who hanged himself on Sept. 9 after what classmates reportedly called a constant stream of invective against him at school.

Less than two weeks later, Asher Brown, a 13-year-old from the Houston suburbs, shot himself after coming out. He, too, had reported being taunted at his middle school, according to The Houston Chronicle. His family has blamed school officials as failing to take action after they complained, something the school district has denied.

The deaths have set off an impassioned — and sometimes angry — response from gay activists and caught the attention of federal officials, including Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who on Friday called the suicides “unnecessary tragedies” brought on by “the trauma of being bullied.”

“This is a moment where every one of us — parents, teachers, students, elected officials and all people of conscience — needs to stand up and speak out against intolerance in all its forms,” Mr. Duncan said.

More here.