By Aline Mendelsohn
Sentinel Staff Writer

March 5, 2002

Chris Vasquez remembers what the other kids did to a friend in middle school. They taunted him, hurled insults at him, accused him of being gay.

Vasquez kept quiet. He knew that if he said anything, the kids would turn on him. And he was hiding his own sexuality.

Vasquez is no longer quiet. He has found his voice and become a megaphone for gay student rights.

Today, the 18-year-old from Orlando, who has taken his campaign for gay rights to the halls of the state Legislature, will be honored in New York City as one of Teen People's "20 Teens Who Will Change the World." He will receive a $1,000 college scholarship.

"He has such a strong personal foundation," says Teen People's executive editor, Tina Johnson. "By changing his world, he ended up changing everyone else's world."

Last April, Vasquez and three other gay teenagers lobbied in Tallahassee for the Dignity for All Students Act, a proposal to extend sexual orientation into nondiscrimination laws in public schools.

Then a senior at Edgewater High School, Vasquez spoke with Rep. Allen Trovillion, R-Winter Park, who essentially told him he would go to hell if he didn't repent for his sins.

Vasquez experienced an intensely personal coming-out process; only his family and closest friends had known he was gay. The national media caught wind of the incident and Vasquez was featured on local TV, CNN and MTV.

The legislation ultimately stalled. But Vasquez's interest in politics had been given a jump-start.

Staying quiet hurt

In high school, Vasquez led a double life.

"The first three years of high school I had to pretend like I was someone else," he says.

He made good grades, edited the Edgewater Eagle Eye newspaper and participated on the homecoming court his senior year.

Outside of school, he sought refuge in the Orlando-based Gay and Lesbian Idea Exchange for Youth, a gay and lesbian advocacy and support group known as GALIXY.

In December of 2000, he came out to his mother. She was stunned but ultimately supportive. Vasquez and his mother attended Parents and Friends of Gays and Lesbians meetings together.

In April, Vasquez and three friends from GALIXY went to Tallahassee for Equality Florida Youth Lobby Day. They hoped to find a sponsor for The Dignity for All Students Act, which would require schools to train teachers and other school officials to deal with anti-gay harassment

Vasquez wanted it known that many gay students are verbally and physically assaulted at school daily.

He was shocked to find out that his state representative didn't represent him. At all.

Vasquez says Trovillion went on an anti-gay tirade and accused gays of causing the downfall of society. He left Trovillion's office in tears.

"I was so outraged that anyone would say that to me," Vasquez says.

He considered the consequences of going public with the incident. No one at school knew he was gay.

"I knew that coming out would help people," he says. "Having to stay quiet about [my sexuality] was the really big thing that bothered me."

When Vasquez returned to school, numerous students approached him, congratulating him for standing up for himself.

His mother, Diann Hornborg, was one of his biggest admirers.

"He just wants people to understand," Hornborg says.

On to college

Vasquez is now a freshman at the University of Miami, studying public relations and political science. He is president of the university's Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Community, an advocacy group with about 50 members.

During the past year, Vasquez has become more confident and outspoken.

He doesn't hesitate to stand up for his rights and challenge people's assumptions. One of his biggest pet peeves is the expression, "That's so gay."

"I'll ask people, what do you mean by gay? And they'll say, 'Oh, I mean stupid.' So gay means stupid?" he says.

Vasquez is starting to be recognized in public. He has been asked for autographs, mostly from his mother's friends (his mother has collected four copies of the magazine so far, and she plans to buy more). At a bowling alley in Miami, a teenage girl approached him. "Hey, aren't you that guy in Teen People?"

Not to brag, but Vasquez is told that his full-page portrait in the April issue is an "extraordinarily good picture." His friends have told him he looks downright hunky.

The magazine honor is just a start. Expect to see Vasquez's name in the headlines again.

He plans to attend law school, then go into politics. The once quiet teenager now has high aspirations: He wants to be president of the United States.

Aline Mendelsohn can be reached at 407-420-5352 or at amendelsohn@orlandosentinel.com.