Glynnis MacNicol | Mediaite
If you haven’t watched Ft. Worth councilman Joel Burns‘ emotional speech about being a gay teen that he gave during a council meeting the other night I highly recommend you do. And get some tissues. The vid has been making the rounds on the web, and is the latest (unofficial) addition in a series of videos that gay adults have making to encourage gay teens to hang on because “it will get better.”
Columnist Dan Savage launched the official “It Gets Better Project” last month along with his husband Terry following the suicide of Billy Lucas, a Greensburg, Ind., high school student. But the rash of similar incidents in recent weeks, including Rutgers student Tyler Clementi and the Bronx 10 attacks, have propelled the problem of teen gay bullying and suicide into the mainstream media headlines and introduced a level of urgency to these videos and statements. Ellen Degeneres was so upset by what happened to Clementi she made her own emotional plea against childhood bullying on her show last week that has also gone viral online. Sometimes you just have to be extra grateful for the Internet and keep your fingers crossed the kids who need it are watching and listening.
Watch Burns’ speech below, and below that Dan Savage and his husband’s first vid for the ‘It Gets Better Project.’
The original version of the story appears here: http://www.mediaite.com/online/must-see-texas-councilman-gives-emotional-it-will-get-better-speech-for-gay-teens/
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