At the American Fork cemetery is buried Bryan Jordan Smith, a 21-year-old who took his life because he couldn't handle being gay, according to the note he left. Bryan was a graduate of American Fork High School. He had served an LDS mission and was planning on attending Joseph Patrick Academy of Hair.
If you think the story of a young man cutting his life short is singular in our state, you are sadly wrong. Every day two teens are treated for attempted suicide, according to the latest data from the Utah Department of Health. Students who are lesbian, gay or bisexual are eight times more likely to die by suicide, twice more likely to be physically assaulted by their peers, five times more likely to be bullied.
Martin Luther King once said that racism is the colored man's burden and the white man's shame. The way we've treated lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders in Utah -- in schools and in churches -- has been terribly shameful. For some of our local youth, like Bryan Jordan Smith, it's tragically become a burden too heavy to bear.
An American Fork High School counselor said that in more than half of the situations she had personally handled, involving attempted suicide or bullying, the students were harassed by their peers because they were accused of being gay, lesbian -- or just looking like one.
Because some families and clergies have wrongly believed that being attracted to the same sex is a choice, gay teens have paid a steep price: out of the roughly 700 LGBT teens who are currently homeless in Salt Lake County, a stunning 70 percent said they were kicked out of their homes because of sexual orientation.
The Alpine School District this week approved the creation of a Gay Straight Alliance at American Fork High School. It was not the District's idea but one that came from local moms, students and counselors who care enough about their community to create a safe place for all students.
The GSA club, the second in Utah County, aims at promoting a "supportive and an affirmative environment that is friendly and respectful to all students regardless of sexual orientation." GSA members say they plan to collect supplies for the homeless youth in Utah, take anti-bullying initiatives and do service in the community to help all people.
My opinion? We should have done this years ago. The club stands to become one of the most Christ-like clubs at the high school, having the potential to save lives. I wish Bryan Jordan Smith were here to see it.
