Tammy Faye Rallies Gay Youth
by Beth Shapiro
365Gay.com Newscenter 

(May 20, Boston) More than 2,000 GLBT teens celebrated Pride on the weekend in Boston.   

Rain and unseasonably cold weather did not dampen the enthusiasm, although it did curtail a parade that had been scheduled for the South End.

Instead, they rallied on the Esplanade, listening to onetime televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker who now works as a gay youth advice columnist.

Bakker told the teens it is appalling that gay teens are twice as likely to commit suicide as heterosexual youths.

''When I read that, my heart almost broke,'' she said, adding that a 19-year-old relative committed suicide just recently. ''Suicide is not the way out,'' said Bakker. ''Life is precious, and you want to live, live, live.''

She said she has drawn on the hardships and criticism she has faced in the past, from battling cancer to fighting critics' questions about her makeup and intelligence.  And, she offered this advice: ''Not everyone is going to like you, not everyone is going to agree with you ... but always remember, no matter what, you have a right to be you,'' she said. ''Your `I will' is more important than your IQ.''

Other speakers included gay cast members from MTV's Real World; Anthony Rapp, star of the Broadway hit ''Rent''; and  best-selling author Christopher Rice.

The weekend event wrapped up with a brunch that featured the cast of Real World and a gay and lesbian short film festival at the Museum of Fine Arts.

The  Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, which sponsors the gay youth pride event annually, runs education programs on violence and suicide intervention at schools statewide. 

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among youth ages 15-19, according reports released by the state. In the 1999 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behaviour Survey, students who identified themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or unsure were twice as likely to attempt suicide, to cut school because they felt unsafe, or were threatened or injured.

Posted 12:06 am, May 20, 2002
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