The It Gets Better Project project has helped a number of teens who are bullied in schools and churches. Legislation to stop bullying has passed in a number of states including Texas.
Amy and David Truong at Texas Capitol
But the bullying continues and so does teen suicide. Here are four gay teens who took their own lives in January. Others may have gone unreported as LGBT-related.
• Jan. 1 — Jeffrey Fehr, 18, hanged himself at his family’s home in Granite Bay, Calif.
• Jan. 11 — Eric James Borges, 19, an intern at The Trevor Project, committed suicide after being bullied, tormented and terrorized for most of his life. His religious-extremist parents did not to attend his memorial.
• Jan. 20 — Phillip Parker, 14, of Gorndonsville, Tenn. committed suicide. His parents said he was constantly bullied because he was gay.
• Jan. 29 — Rafael Morelos, 14, of Wenatchee, Wash., who was openly gay, hanged himself after constant bullying.
But the bullying doesn’t stop there. Dallas Voice reported in March 2011 that Asher Brown’s parents, Amy and David Truong, were being harassed for speaking out against the Cy-Fair Independent School District and pushing for anti-bullying legislation.
Asher was one of the teen’s whose suicide brought national attention to the issue. His parents lobbied Texas legislators and testified before the Senate Education Committee about the bullying Asher endured.
Fox News in Houston reports that the Truongs continue to be the victims of bullying and vandalism at their house. Watch the Fox video here.
Thank you Amy and David Truong for advocating against bullying even though your hearts are broken.
Thank you Amy and David! I am a freshmen in a Texas school and am bullyed almost everyday. My school has done nothing about the bullies becaus ethey are football players. So im really glad someone is doing something to stop bullying. I suffer from sever depression and have attemped suicide before, recently because of the bullying getting worse i was thinking about attempting again, but after reading your sons story i decided against it. Thank you!
Hannah, I just saw your post. If you need to speak to someone else, please call Youth First Texas here in Dallas or call us here at Dallas Voice and we will get other help to you. You aren’t alone and that sort of bullying in schools in Texas is now illegal. No matter what your sexual orientation or gender identity, the LGBT community here in Dallas cares about you and you should be safe. If anything happened to you, it would hurt all of us.
What is wrong with people these days?!?!? You’re still grieving for the loss of your child, and these sick, demented people have the gall to harass you? I can’t believe these ignorant idiots would say that homosexuals will go to Hell, but think that God and Jesus won’t judge them for their own trespasses. It’s both arrogant and shameful.
People that knew Asher personally are aggravated by his parents because they are refusing to accept responsibility for their part in his death. Asher shared frightening stories of the physical, verbal, and mental abuse he received daily from his stepfather. If my child told me these things were happening to his precious friend before Asher took his life, I would have alerted CPS myself. It sickens me to listen to Asher’s stepdad.