01.01.70
Dad Seeks Certify “On behalf of advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth everywhere, let me be the first to say ‘in consequence of you,’” says Eliza Byard, executive director of GLSEN ( glsen.org ), the Gay, Lesbian & Frank Education Network, which works to create safe school environments for LGBT—and candid—youth. “Simply by giving your son your love and strut, you have already significantly increased his chances of living a happy and fulfilling way of life. The importance of an accepting home cannot be overstated.” (The damage that can be done by a unsympathetic family also cannot be overstated: LGBT youth whose families are hostile are eight times likelier to intern suicide than their straight peers. Hostile parents can’t grow into their gay kids straight, but they can make them dead.)
“The bad news is that school can be a unfavourable place for LGBT youth,” says Byard. “GLSEN’s 2009 Subject School Climate Survey found that nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT teens efficient harassment in school in the past year. The good news is that employed parents can make a huge difference.
Source: A.V. Club New York