Young Gay Boy Beaten In Hate Crime Attack

Earlier this month, a gay 13-year-old boy was attacked by four teens who shouted "faggot" and "queer" as they pummeled him on the ground and threatened his life. The assault left the Canadian child with injuries on the left side of his body - mainly on his ribs, the kidney area and his arm.

The Chatham Daily News reports on the incident and the anonymous young teen, who, for the sake of this article, goes by the name "David."

“They were calling me names like 'faggot' and 'queer' and they were telling me that I should go to hell,” said David. “I tried to ignore them and I tried to go to the other side of the street, but then one kid pushed me back.”

He lost his balance and when he hit the ground the youths began to kick him, continuing their verbal onslaught. David curled up and did his best to protect his head from the blows, trying to figure how to get away.

“I was in a ball and sort of in shock,” he said. “I was thinking 'Wow, this really hurts.' It felt really long, but it probably only lasted 15 seconds-ish.” Even when the kicking stopped, the threats didn't.

“The leader of the group, he turned around pulled out a pocket knife,” David said. “(He) flipped it up and said 'If you tell anyone, then you're going to die.' And then he ran away.”

It appears as if David is surrounded by very supportive parents. Said the boy's father to his son:

“Thank God you're different because I wouldn't want you to be like those idiots,” he said. “I'm glad you are who you are. At least you're brave enough to be a real person.”

The Chatham-Kent Police are reportedly actively investigating this assault as a hate crime.

Indiana Abruptly Ends Negotiations with LGBT Youth Group Over 'Pride' License Plate

The Indiana Youth Group, an LGBT support group, was shocked this week when Indiana's bureau of Motor Vehicles abruptly ended negotiations over reinstating a specialty license plate that it, The Indiana Greenways Foundation and the Indiana 4-H Foundation had lost last year, the Indy Star reports:

...the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles ended its negotiations with the three groups, citing passage of a new state law that creates a legislative commission to recommend specialty plates.

The BMV issued a brief statement saying that it had “been in various levels of conversations with the groups about ending the suspensions. With the passage of the new law ... the legislature has stated its intent regarding the specialty group plates.”

The abrupt decision by the BMV has left the three groups frustrated and baffled.

The groups, the BMV said, now have the choice of going back through the appeals process, or taking their chances with the still-to-be-created legislative panel that will make recommendations for specialty plates to the BMV.

Conservative lawmakers were behind the revocation of the plate last spring. Indiana LGBT groups remain "very suspicious".

Two Adorable 2013 Gay Prom Photos

The first, via Imgur, captioned: "We just got back from the prom." "Did you have dates?" "Um, yeah."

Another, below, via Reddit: "Me (right) and my boyfriend (left) for prom!"

The times are a-changin'. What was your prom experience like and what year was it?

LGBT Homeless Youth Describe Rejection from Christian Households: VIDEOS

The Ali Forney Center, New York City's largest shelter for homeless LGBT youth has released a set of videos featuring four of their clients talking about the physical abuse, psychological torment, and rejection they suffered in Christian households which drove them from their homes.

Executive Director Carl Siciliano writes about it in an essay:

"As millions celebrate Easter, I need to ask my fellow Christians to wake up to the terrible fact that far too many LGBT youth are being abused and rejected in Christian homes...

A recent study by the Family Acceptance Project on the impact of family rejection of LGBT youth found that parents who identify as "strongly religious" were significantly more likely to reject their children. According to research by the Center for American Progress, there are an estimated 300,000 homeless LGBT youth in our country, and the leading cause of their homelessness is family rejection.

It doesn't have to be like this. Jesus Christ never spoke a word of condemnation against homosexuals. Churches don't have any need to condemn LGBT people, or fight against our equal treatment in our country. A growing number of church communities have chosen to be affirming and supportive of LGBT people. I have the joy of experiencing this directly in the numerous church groups who send volunteers to cook in our shelters and collect clothing and even Christmas gifts for our young people.

A healthy society prioritizes the safety of children. Decent people do not stand by in silence when children are being abused. We need to recognize that the condemnation of LGBT people in churches leads to the abuse and rejection of LGBT children in far too many Christian homes.

As NJ Legislature Considers Ban on 'Gay Conversion Therapy', Chris Christie Says He's Undecided On It

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie does not have an opinion yet on a bill under consideration in the New Jersey legislature that would ban so-called 'gay conversion therapy', the Star-Ledger reports:

"I'm of two minds just on this stuff in general," he said at a news conference at Stone Harbor Elementary School. "Number one, I think there should be lots of deference given to parents on raising their children. I don't — this is a general philosophy, not to his bill — generally philosophically, on bills that restrict parents ability to make decisions on how to care for their children, I'm generally a skeptic of those bills. Now, there can always be exceptions to those rules and this bill may be one of them."

As is his practice with most legislation, Christie said he had yet to look at the bill and won't until it gets to his desk.

The New Jersey Senate Health Committee advanced the bill in a 7-1 vote this week following some powerful testimony, which included that of Jacob Rudolph, the Parsippany High School senior who came out to his entire class at an awards show in January. Watch it HERE.

Missouri School: Gay Teen Can Bring His Male Date to Prom

Earlier today I posted about Stacy Dawson, a gay Missouri teen who was told he couldn't attend his prom with a male date. Some good news to report. The district superintendent has said Dawson, or any gay teen, may bring a same-sex date, the line forbidding it has been removed from the rule book, and the school says it was not originally put there to ban gay students, NBC News reports:

"I found out why the stipulation in the student handbook was originally put in there, and it's rather innocent, to be honest," Alvin McFerren, Scott County Central School District superintendent, said. "This was during a time 10-15 years ago that the previous administration was having issues with some of the students trying to come in on either the single rate or the couple rate. They implemented that to make sure they couldn't circumvent the rates that students were supposed to pay as they entered into our dances."

McFerren said Dawson will be allowed to go to prom with his boyfriend.

"It was never intended to be a discriminatory thing," he said. "We want an educational environment for all of our kids and we're not ever going to discriminate as to whether or not the board has the policy and we don't do that based on sexual orientation. Period."

Happy prom, everyone.