Gay Student Condemned By Church Dies By Suicide
Asheville, North Carolina – William “Ben” Wood was 21 when he died on the floor of his dorm at UNC-Asheville. Friends who found him said that he was drawn up in a fetal position on May 8, 2013, having slashed open his veins. The loss of this sensitive, justice-seeking young gay man is a tragedy by most accounts–his friends and school mates say he was a fine student, but in recent months his grades and school performance had plunged. The university junior couldn’t deal with the prospect of going back to his neighborhood in Asheville without being a student any longer, according to his mother’s account in the Reconciling Ministries Network Blog. As a teen, he had been irreparably wounded by a Youth Leader at his home church as he prepared to go on a Mission trip with his friends from the United Methodist Youth Fellowship.
His mom, Julie Wood, recounts how the misguided Youth Leader singled out her son for being gay in front of his peers. The leader said, “You all know, we all know, that Ben is gay. Who here is comfortable being around him?” Demanding a response from each youth in the group, the Leader then said, “Do you understand that Ben is going to hell?” Once again, the Youth Leader pressed each youth for an answer about Ben. Crushed, exposed, and broken by the experience, Ben came home while his UMYF friends left on the bus for the Mission Trip. His mother, who stalwartly contends that their home church is a loving and supportive place, says that this was the trigger experience she believes led to the suicide of her son a few agonizing years later. Mrs. Wood writes:
“Ben was told that he was not worthy of going on the mission trip. He had been shamed, humiliated, and betrayed. He was told that he did not deserve to be a part of the group. He was no representative of God.
Out of our front window, I saw the goldish colored Caviler abruptly whip into our driveway. Ben ran up the porch steps and stood in the doorway. One look, and I knew, something horrible had happened. The flushed sides of his cheeks quivered as did his lip. His breathing was rapid and his eyes just about to spill over.
The church bus was loaded with Ben’s friends to go on that mission trip while my betrayed and broken son, walked alone around Salem Lake. He must have felt so very abandoned and isolated.
While he never lost his compassion for others, I think that this was the day that he gave up on people and God.”
Skeptics may argue that there is no clear correspondence between the suicide of a young gay man years after the shaming incident that took place in a church youth group in his teens. Others will say that the church is basically a loving and supportive place, but is put in a hard situation by teachings like those of the United Methodist Church that send an ambiguous, essentially rejecting message about lesbians and gay people. On the one hand, the social teachings of the church say that every person, including “homosexuals,” is of “sacred worth.” On the other, the United Methodist Church stubbornly rejects homosexuality as “incompatible” with Christian teaching–denying ordination and marriage to LGBT people, and defrocking their clergy who carry out same-sex marriage ceremonies, or who live openly as lesbian or gay people.
So, who stands guilty of Ben Wood’s death? The Youth Minister who was applying what he believed the teachings of his church on homosexuality to be? Ben’s so-called “friends” who one-by-one (under pressure from an adult leader, of course) abandoned Ben to shame and broken heartedness? The theologians and clergy of the church, who cannot seem to reconcile the love of God on the one hand, and social heterosexism and homophobia on the other? And what of Ben’s own responsibility to transcend the suffering of his youth–though this latter argument is little more than blaming a victim for his own demise?
Bens’ obituary says he was a genuine, complex, and worthwhile human being. The Winston-Salem Journal and Sentinel records that Ben “was a member of Sedge Garden United Methodist Church and was a Junior at UNC-Asheville. Ben had a kind and loving soul, with a great sense of humor. He was particularly compassionate to the needs and struggles of others more than himself and was a great journalist. To his younger sisters, Ben was a great big brother who shared lots of walks in the creeks and scavenger hunts with their stuffed animals.” The obituary goes on to say that three clergy spoke at his funeral, and that his own maternal grandfather was a clergyman. But Ben found so little hospitality and comfort from the churches around him and the clergy who served them that he could not and did not reach out to them in his darkest hours. So, a sensitive, socially conscious young man, who happened to be gay and Christian, took his own life.
Dr. Stephen V. Sprinkle, Professor of Practical Theology at Brite Divinity School, and a native North Carolinian himself, issues this opinion and prayer for other young LGBT persons: “The churches and their leadership have much to answer for in the deaths of young people like Ben Wood. While we may not be able to point to a smoking gun linking the suicide of young persons condemned by church teachings to the culpability of the churches, there is no doubt that Christian heterosexism and homophobia contribute to the climate that denigrates LGBTQ people and creates undue suffering in their lives. Indeed, there are progressive and welcoming churches and clergy, and for them we give thanks. But they are too few, and the silence of church people about the prejudice condemning LGBTQ folk is a major contributing factor in the horror of spiritual violence against them.”
Dr. Sprinkle concludes: “Let us be crystal clear about this: the heterosexism and homophobia Ben Wood experienced in his life is a Christian heresy–one the churches and clergy of every stripe must find the courage to repent of and repudiate. And we must do everything we can to make amends to youth like Ben, and to their families.”
February 7, 2014 Posted by unfinishedlives | Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, Brite Divinity School, Bullycide, gay men, gay teens, GLSEN, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, Homosexuality and the Bible, LGBT teen suicide prevention, LGBTQ, LGBTQ suicide, North Carolina, religious hate speech, religious intolerance, United Methodist Church | Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, Bullycide, gay men, gay teens, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, LGBTQ, LGBTQ suicide, LGBTQ suicide prevention, North Carolina, religious hate speech, religious intolerance, United Methodist Church | 9 Comments
Gay Teen’s Heartbreaking Suicide Note: Bullying Led to El Paso Youth’s Untimely Death

Brandon Joseph Elizares, 16: artist, poet, Shakespeare lover, gay boy. Bullying led to his suicide June 2.
El Paso, Texas – Brandon Elizares came out to his mother when he was 14. “I’m still me. I’m Brandon. Nothing has changed, except I like boys,” his mother, Zachalyn Elizares remembers. Bullied relentlessly for being gay, he Andress High School sophomore barely made it to 16. News of his plaintive farewell note hit the media Thursday, compounding the impact of his June 2 death from an overdose of pills. “My name is Brandon Joseph Elizares,” he wrote, “and I couldn’t make it. I love you guys with all my heart.” His younger brother found Brandon’s body in his room, where the note was left along with a careful display of all his school awards and his art work, according to the KVIA-TV News 7, the local ABC affiliate. His mother commented on the rest of the note’s content: “He wrote that he was sorry, that he felt like he had to hide under his skin from being who he was because it made him feel terrible.”
His mother and his friends painted a grim picture of Brandon’s last days at Andress High. The precipitating hate message that seemed to tip Brandon over the edge was a text message on Friday from a boy who threatened to fight him for being gay. The El Paso Times reports that Brandon had attended Andress for only about two months, having transferred from Chapin High School where the anti-gay bullying had become intense. The bullying followed him to his new school. Taunts and threats plagued him, though Brandon tried to put a brave face on things for his mother. “I know it’s hard being a teenager, and it’s especially hard being a gay teenager,” Zachalyn Elizares told reporters, “but I didn’t realize how hard it was. Knowing when to step in is always difficult.” When Brandon told her students threatened to shoot him and to set him on fire, she dove in to rouse school officials first at Chapin and then at Andress to the problem. Brandon reported the bullying to school authorities, and they did reprimand some of his tormentors in the school–but they didn’t notify the bullies’ parents, according to Ms. Elizares. “I don’t know if they didn’t take it seriously unless it turned physical,” she said. “Parents should know what their kids are doing, especially if they’re being taught these things at home.”
His mother doesn’t want anyone to face prosecution for her son’s death by suicide. She says he made a choice. But it is clear to her, to Brandon’s friends, and to El Paso community leaders that bullying led to Brandon’s suicide. Instead of retribution, Ms. Elizares hopes the parents of bullies and their victims across the nation will learn from her awful loss. Parents, she says, must become more aware of what their children are doing in school, whether they are bullying others, or are the target of bullying. “You can’t fix anything if you don’t know what the problem is,” she said.
Brandon’s story is going viral around the nation. Many are learning about him, his challenges, and the courage of his family. Though news outlets usually refrain from reporting on suicides, the special circumstances surrounding Brandon’s death have caused many media organizations to make an exception. Homophobic bullying has to be exposed in order to effectively confront it.
Meanwhile, Zachalyn Elizares and her surviving son and daughter are doing the best they can. Brandon was a premie, just three pounds when he was born, she remembers. He was her first child, born when she was just 16 herself, a very young mother in Hawaii. She said to the El Paso Times, “I literally had to grow up with him.” As a military family, the Elizares clan moved to El Paso. She intends to take her son’s body back to Hawaii for burial next week. A memorial service is planned on Friday, June 15 at Holy Spirit Episcopal Church, beginning at 7 p.m. El Paso’s PFLAG Chapter is sponsoring the service, and is collecting a fund to help with expenses. The hurt his mother feels breaks through from time-to-time, tears bleeding through the laughter and smiles she tries to show the world. “He worried about everyone else before himself,” she said. “He would say, ‘It’s OK, it doesn’t bother me.’ My son had a right to live how he wanted to live.”
June 15, 2012 Posted by unfinishedlives | Bullycide, Bullying in schools, gay teens, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, Latino and Latina Americans, LGBT teen suicide prevention, LGBTQ, LGBTQ suicide, military, PFLAG El Paso, suicide, Texas | Anti-LGBT hate crime, Bullycide, Bullying in schools, gay teens, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, Latino / Latina Americans, LGBTQ, LGBTQ teen suicide, PFLAG El Paso, Texas | 5 Comments
High School Students Suspended for Roles in Rodenmeyer Bully-cide
Williamsburg School District, New York – An unspecified number of North High School students have been suspended for bullying Jamey Rodenmeyer, who killed himself in September following unrelenting anti-gay harassment. The Advocate reports that the suspensions resulted from information shared by police after the Rodenmeyer case was closed. Though Amherst law enforcement authorities declined to bring charges against students in the case, they identified at least five incidents of anti-gay bullying aimed at Rodenmeyer, a 14-year-old freshman. The boy’s parents and school officers were not informed of the bullying incidents in question until it was too late.
School officials would not say the number of students suspended, but indicated that each of them faced a “minimum suspension” of at least five days. Longer term suspensions may have been invoked, as well, though expulsion from school is not permitted for youths of this age. These suspensions mark the second round of actions taken by the school system since Rodenmeyer’s death. A female student who said she was “glad he was dead” was suspended soon after the suicide. Rodenmeyer, whose “It Gets Better” YouTube video gained wide circulation and the attention of Lady Gaga, took his life by hanging on September 18.
December 5, 2011 Posted by unfinishedlives | Anglo Americans, Bullycide, Bullying in schools, gay teens, GLBTQ, harassment, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, It Gets Better Project (IGBP), Lady Gaga, Law and Order, LGBTQ, LGBTQ suicide, New York | Anglo Americans, Bullycide, Bullying in schools, gay teens, GLBTQ, harassment, Hate Crimes, Heterosexism and homophobia, It Gets Better Project (IGBP), Lady Gaga, Law and Order, LGBTQ, LGBTQ teen suicide, New York | Comments Off on High School Students Suspended for Roles in Rodenmeyer Bully-cide
Heartbroken 14-year-old Gay Youth Tormented to Death
Amherst, New York – Jamey Rodenmeyer wrote Lady Gaga lyrics on his Facebook page the weekend before he took his own life: “Don’t forget me when I come crying to heaven’s door.” The quotation is from “The Queen,” a song included on Lady Gaga’s hit album, “Born This Way.” The 14-year-old Williamsville North High student suffered unrelenting taunting and cyberbullying for being gay. Though he was in counseling with a therapist and a social worker, and was supported by his parents and a host of fans around the country due to his YouTube video for the “It Gets Better” project, the cumulative effect of psychic trauma and fear of violence broke down young Rodenmeyer’s defenses. His parents, who found Jamey’s body outside their home on September 19, told WGRZ Buffalo that they are certain he killed himself because of the bullying. Rodenmeyer’s suicide immediately rekindled nationwide concern and anger over the culture of violence elementary, middle, and secondary school LGBTQ students face in and out of classrooms every day. Lady Gaga called for a campaign to make bullycide a hate crime by law (no bullying laws exist in New York State). An outspoken advocate for the gay and lesbian community, Gaga tweeted her fans: “Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 yrs old, took his life because of bullying. Bullying must become be illegal. It is a hate crime.” She then committed herself to approach President Obama. “I am meeting with our President,” she posted. “I will not stop fighting. This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey.” Dan Savage, the co-originator of the “It Gets Better” project for which Rodemeyer made a video last May, said that he broke down and cried when he heard about the youth’s suicide. Savage wrote on his blog, “The point of the ‘It Gets Better’ project is to give kids like Jamey Rodemeyer hope for their futures. But sometimes hope isn’t enough. Sometimes the damage done by hate and by haters is simply too great. Sometimes the future seems too remote. And those are the times our hearts break.”
The insults, rumors, and ridicule became too much for Jamey to bear. On a Formspring site he opened to chat with friends online, he was targeted by irrational hate. The Washington Post reports two representative instances of hate speech that would have unsettled anyone, no matter how well grounded: “JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!” an anonymous detractor wrote. Another went straight for his heart: “I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would. So just do it 🙂 It would make everyone WAY more happier!” Even though there were expressions of support among the posts to his site, the loudness of the hate drowned out the love. In hindsight, Jamey’s cries for help are all too obvious. On September 9, he wrote on Facebook, “I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. … What do I have to do so people will listen to me? No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you’re the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down.” But the face he let his parents see was calm and relatively upbeat. Just days before he took his own life, the family went on a camping trip.
Amherst Police are investigating whether charges may be brought against youths who continually dogged Rodenmeyer with taunts and slurs. Buffalo News reports that the Special Victims Unit has been assigned to investigate whether crimes were committed against Jamey. Cyberbullying, especially if it was centered on Rodenmeyer’s sexual orientation, could carry charges against his tormentors. Police spokesmen have said that they are focusing their probe on one to three young harassers who targeted Rodenmeyer ever since he was a student at Heim Middle School. “We’re looking into it to see if he was the victim of any crimes, and that’s the bottom line,” Amherst Chief of Police John C. Askey told reporters. “We’re going to be speaking to school officials and students and anyone with direct information about crimes that may have been committed against this individual.”
Nearly 5,000 youths commit suicide each year, according the Centers for Disease Control, making teen suicide, especially teen LGBTQ suicide, a national health issue. But the statistics cannot adequately count the cost of bullying in American society. Criminal harassment, ridicule, and threats strike real boys and girls one-by-one, like Jamey Rodenmeyer, and rip away their futures. In the last communication of his short life, Jamey tweeted Lady Gaga, “@ladygaga bye mother monster thank you for all you have done, paws up forever.” In a tribute to Gaga, Jamey’s parents buried him Saturday wearing his “Born This Way” tee shirt.
September 23, 2011 Posted by unfinishedlives | Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, anti-LGBT hate crime murder, Bisexual persons, Blame the victim, Bullycide, Bullying in schools, Dan Savage, gay men, gay teens, Gender Variant Youth, GLBTQ, harassment, Hate Crime Statistics, Hate Crimes, hate speech, Heterosexism and homophobia, It Gets Better Project (IGBP), Lady Gaga, Law and Order, Legislation, Lesbian women, LGBT teen suicide prevention, LGBTQ, LGBTQ suicide, New York, Perpetrators of Hate Crime, Slurs and epithets, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons, transphobia | Anglo Americans, Anti-LGBT hate crime, anti-LGBT hate crime murder, Bisexual persons, Blame the victim, Bullycide, Bullying in schools, Dan Savage, gay men, gay teens, GLBTQ, harassment, Hate Crimes, hate crimes prevention, hate crimes statistics, Heterosexism and homophobia, It Gets Better Project (IGBP), Lady Gaga, Law and Order, Lesbians, LGBTQ, LGBTQ teen suicide, LGBTQ teen suicide prevention, New York, perpetrators, Slurs and epithets, Social Justice Advocacy, transgender persons, transphobia | Comments Off on Heartbroken 14-year-old Gay Youth Tormented to Death
About
If you are a first-time visitor to the Unfinished Lives Project website, we invite you to read A Welcome Message introducing you to our project. We are truly grateful for your visit.
The Unfinished Lives Project website is a place of public discourse which remembers and honors LGBTQ hate crime victims, while also revealing the reality of unseen violence perpetrated against people whose only “offense” is their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender presentation. LGBTQ people in the United States are suffering a slow-rolling decimation of terror and murder all across the country. Every locale and demographic of society are affected: First Nations, Anglo, Black, Latino and Latina, South and Southeast Asian, Transgender, Bisexuals, Gay men, Lesbians, disabled, young, and mature. Homophobia has a long, crooked arm, and it is reaching out to snatch the life away from women and men whose tragic stories are under-reported to begin with, and whose memories are swiftly forgotten.
The horror of these killings transcends the shock and bereavement of loved ones and friends. These are not typical homicides; they are not killings for money or drugs, incidents of domestic strife, or crimes of passion. The vicious nature of hate crimes against LGBTQ persons is extremely brutal, grotesquely violent, and egregiously hateful.
Each murder serves the LGBTQ population as a sobering warning about the actual level of danger in our communities. The message these killings send is that freedom and open life for LGBTQ people is a cruel dream. Every time we remember one of these victims, however, the intentions of their killers are frustrated. To remember these women and men is to begin the process of changing the culture that killed them.
Our Project Director
Stephen V. Sprinkle is Director of Field Education and Supervised Ministry, and Professor of Practical Theology at Brite Divinity School, Fort Worth, Texas, a post he has held since 1994. An ordained Baptist minister, he is the first open and out Gay scholar in the history of the Divinity School, and the first open and out LGBTQ person to be tenured there. Read More…
Recent Social Justice Advocacy Activity By Dr. Sprinkle
Summer 2009 – Dr. Sprinkle responded to the Fort Worth Police Department and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Raid on the Rainbow Lounge, Fort Worth’s newest gay bar, on June 28, 2009, the exact 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Dr. Sprinkle was invited to speak at three protest events sponsored by Queer LiberAction of Dallas. Here, he is keynoting the Rainbow Lounge Protest at the Tarrant County Courthouse on July 12, 2009. Read More…
Contact Us
Communicate with the Unfinished Lives project team:
info@unfinishedlivesblog.com
Schedule a Presentation
Dr. Sprinkle will gladly present his acclaimed presentation to your organization. To arrange an Unfinished Lives presentation for your organization or group, please contact us.
Dr. Sprinkle has given his Unfinished Lives presentation to these and other community groups and organizations. Read More…
Pages
-
Join 11,269 other subscribers
Categories
- "All American Boy"
- "Kill the Gays Bill"
- 2013 Hate Crimes Statistics
- 9/11
- A Welcome Message
- Abiding Truth Ministries
- abortion
- ACLU
- ACT-UP
- Africa
- African Americans
- AIDS Healthcare Foundation
- Alabama
- Alliance of Baptists
- Alma Books Korea
- Amendment One
- American Bar Association (ABA)
- American Family Association
- Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
- Anglo Americans
- Anoka-Hennepin School District
- Anthrax threat
- Anti-Defamation League of New England
- Anti-Gay Hate Groups
- Anti-LGBT hate crime
- anti-LGBT hate crime murder
- Anti-LGBT hate crimes
- Anti-Semitism
- Appalachian State University
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Arson
- Art and Architecture
- Asian Americans
- Asphixiation
- Assassination
- Atlanta Eagle Bar Raid
- Atlanta Police Department
- Austin Police Department
- Austin Pride
- AWB/Iron Guards Movement
- B.R.A.V.E. Society
- Back 2 Stonewall
- Baptist Church
- Barton College
- Bayard Rustin
- Beatings and battery
- Being Gay is a Gift From God Campaign
- bi-phobia
- Bill de Blasio
- Bisexual persons
- Black Hebrews
- Blame the victim
- Bludgeoning
- Bombs and explosives
- book desecration
- Book excerpts
- Book Tour
- Boston College Law School
- Boston Latin School
- Boy Scouts of America
- Brandon McInerney
- Brazil
- Brewster County Texas
- Brite Divinity School
- Bronx
- Brooklyn
- Bullycide
- Bullying in schools
- Burger King
- Burning and branding
- C Street "The Family"
- California
- Campus Pride
- capital punishment
- Carolyn Wagner
- Carthage
- Catawba College
- Cathedral of Hope
- Cathedral of Hope Houston
- Cedar Springs/Oak Lawn Neighborhood
- Center for American Progress
- Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE)
- Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
- Center for Homicide Research
- Center on Halsted
- Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Central United Methodist Church Toledo
- Character assassination
- Chelsea
- Chick-fil-a
- Child abuse
- Christian Social Activism
- Christine Quinn
- Christmas
- Chungdong First Methodist Church Korea
- Church in the Now
- Cinco de Mayo
- cisgender people
- Civil Rights Movement
- Clarendon Church of Christ
- Clergy Call
- CNN
- Cokesbury Books
- Colorado
- Condolences
- Connecticut
- Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
- Coretta Scott King
- Councilman Chris Seelbach
- Covenant Christian Church
- Crimes against humanity
- cyber voyeurism
- cyberstalking
- DADT
- Dallas
- Dallas Commissioners Court
- Dallas County Texas
- Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance
- Dallas hate crimes
- Dallas Morning News
- Dallas Police Department
- Dallas Stonewall Democrats
- Dallas Voice
- Dan Savage
- Daniel Hernandez
- Daniel Radcliffe
- Daughters of Bilitis
- death threats
- Decapitation and dismemberment
- desecration of corpses
- DFW Trans-Cendence
- Diana Butler Bass
- Disabled persons
- DOMA
- Domestic Violence
- Don't Ask
- Don't Tell (DADT)
- Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT)
- Donnie Romero
- Dr. Stephen V. Sprinkle
- drag queens
- Dragging murders
- Dream Act
- drowning
- Duke Divinity School
- East Carolina University
- East Texas
- East Texas PFLAG
- Economic Justice
- Ecuador
- Elton John
- Employment discrimination
- ENDA
- Endorsements
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
- Equality Baltimore
- Equality Michigan
- Equality North Carolina
- Equality Texas
- Equality Toledo
- Euro Pride 2011
- European Court of Human Rights
- Evisceration
- Ex-gay conversion camp
- Execution
- Fairness Fort Worth
- Faith In America
- false report
- Families United Against Hate (FUAH)
- FBI
- First Christian Church Wilmington
- First Nations
- First United Methodist Church Eureka Springs
- Flight 93
- Florida
- Fort Worth Police Department
- Forum on the Military Chaplaincy
- Fr. John MacNeill
- Fr. Mychal Judge
- France
- Frank Kameny
- Fred Phelps
- French homophobia
- funerals
- Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords
- Gandalf
- Gang violence
- gay and lesbian foster parents
- Gay Bar Raids
- Gay Bars
- gay bashing
- Gay Equity Team (GET)
- gay gene
- gay men
- gay panic defense
- gay panic defense ban
- Gay Pride Month
- Gay Russia
- gay teens
- gay veterans
- Gay-Straight Alliances
- Gays and Lesbian Opposing Violence
- gender identity/expression
- Gender Variant Youth
- gender-neutral youth
- genderqueer youth
- Georgia
- Georgia Equality
- GET EQUAL Texas
- GLAAD
- GLBTQ
- GLSEN
- Gore Vidal
- Governor Asa Hutchinson
- Governor Jerry Brown
- Governor Rick Perry
- Great Britain
- Greensboro
- Greenwich Village
- gun violence
- Gwen Araujo
- Hanging
- Hanukkah
- Happy Holidays
- harassment
- Harlem
- Harvard University
- Harvey B. Milk Foundation
- Harvey Milk
- Harvey Milk Commemorative Postage Stamp
- Harvey Milk Day
- Harvey Milk Foundation
- Hasidic Jews
- Hate Crime Statistics
- Hate Crimes
- hate crimes prevention
- hate speech
- Hero of Hope
- Heterosexism and homophobia
- Highland Baptist Church
- Hillary Clinton
- Hillcrest Neighborhood
- hit-and-run
- HIV/AIDS
- HIV/AIDS prevention
- Hollywood
- home-invasion
- homophobic child abuse
- Homosexuality and the Bible
- House of Blahnik
- Housing Discrimination
- Houston Clergy Council
- Houston HERO ordinance
- Houston Independent School District
- Howard University
- Huffington Post
- Huffington Post Religion Page
- Human Rights Campaign
- Human Rights Campaign Religion and Faith Program
- Human Rights Struggle
- I AM DONE
- Ian McKellan
- Illinois
- immolation
- In Memoriam
- Inaugural Poet
- Independent Book Awards (IPPYs)
- Indiana
- Internalized homophobia
- International AIDS Conference
- invasion of privacy
- Iowa
- Israel
- It Gets Better Book
- It Gets Better Project
- It Gets Better Project (IGBP)
- Jason Collins
- Jeanne Manford
- Jimmy Lee Dean
- Johnson and Wales University
- Jon Buice
- Justice Anthony Kennedy
- Kansas
- Karl Barth
- Kentucky
- Kentucky Equality Federation
- kidnapping
- Kidnapping and sexual assault
- Kim Jho Kwang-soo
- Kirk Cameron
- KKK
- Klu Klux Klan
- Kobe Bryant
- Koran
- KY
- Lady Gaga
- Lakewood Church
- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
- Larry King
- Latin King Goonies
- Latino and Latina Americans
- Latinos
- Law and Order
- Lawrence v. Texas
- Legislation
- Lesbian teens
- Lesbian women
- Lesbians
- LGBT teen suicide prevention
- LGBTQ
- LGBTQ clergy
- LGBTQ Community
- LGBTQ Ordination
- LGBTQ suicide
- Liberty Counsel
- License to Bully bill
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Louisiana
- MacDonald's
- Maine
- Mainline Protestant Churches
- Mark Bingham
- Marriage Equality
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- Martyrdom as State-Sanctioned Hate Crime
- Maryland
- Mass shooting
- Mass shootings
- Massachusetts
- Mat Staver
- Mattachine Society
- Matthew Shepard
- Matthew Shepard Act
- Matthew Shepard Foundation
- Maurice "Bojangles" Blanchard
- Mayor Michael Bloomberg
- MCC of Greater Dallas
- Media Issues
- MeetMe.com
- Metropolitan Police (D.C.)
- Michigan
- Mike Huckabee
- military
- Military Chaplaincy
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Mistaken as Gay
- Mistaken as LGBT
- mob-violence and lynching
- Montana
- Monuments and markers
- Moscow Pride '11
- Mother Emanuel AME Church
- Mucinex defense
- multiple homicide
- Munhakdongne Publishing Group
- Muslims
- National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
- National Basketball Association (NBA)
- National Center for Transgender Equality
- National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP)
- National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
- National Guard
- National LGBT Bar Association
- Native Americans
- NC State GLBT Center
- NC State Graduate School
- Nebraska
- Neo-Nazis and White Supremacy
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- New York City
- New York Knicks
- New York Police Department (NYPD)
- Nicolas West
- North Carolina
- North Carolina NAACP
- Northern Arapaho Tribe
- NYPD
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Old Catholic Rite
- Omaha
- Omar Mateen
- Open Doors Community Church Korea
- Oregon
- Orlando
- Orlando Police Department
- Out Impact
- OutFront Minnesota
- Outlinc
- OutServe
- Parenting equality
- Park View Project
- Paul Broussard
- Pennsylvania
- Perpetrators of Hate Crime
- Perpetua and Felicity
- Pet killings
- Peter J. Gomes "The Good Book"
- PFLAG
- PFLAG El Paso
- Phelps-a-thon
- Phillipines
- Pink poodle
- police brutality
- Political asylum for LGBT People
- Politics
- Pope Benedict XVI
- Popular Culture
- President Barack Obama
- Presidential Proclamation
- Project Activity Summaries
- Proposition 8
- Protests and Demonstrations
- Public Theology
- Puerto Rico
- Pulse Nightclub
- Queens
- Queer
- Queer Rising
- Queerty.com
- Racism
- Rainbow flag
- Rainbow flag burning
- Rainbow Lounge Raid
- rape
- Reconciliation
- Reconciling Ministries Network
- Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)
- religious hate speech
- religious intolerance
- Remembrances
- Reparative Therapy
- Repeal of DADT
- Republic of the Philippines
- Resource Center
- Resource Center of Dallas
- Resurrection MCC Houston
- Rhode Island
- Richard Blanco
- Robert F. Kennedy
- Roe v Wade
- Roman Catholic Church and Homosexuality
- Roman North Africa
- Rome
- Rush Limbaugh
- Russia
- Russian Federation
- Rutgers University
- Sakia Gunn Film Project
- Same-sex marriage
- San Antonio
- San Diego
- San Diego Unified School District
- San Francisco
- Sarah Palin
- School and church shootings
- Scott Lively
- Seattle
- Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
- Self-defense classes for LGBTQ people
- Senator Jesse Helms
- Senegal
- Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
- Sexual assault
- Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
- Sheriff Clarence Dupnik
- Shower of Stoles Project
- Sioux Falls
- Sioux Falls Center for Equality
- Slashing attacks
- Slurs and epithets
- Social Justice Advocacy
- Social Media and Smartphone Apps
- soft homophobia
- song
- SOS Homophobie
- South Africa
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- South Florida
- South Korea
- Southern Poverty Law Center
- Southwest Airlines
- Southwest Florida Equality Coalition
- Special Comments
- St Jude's MCC
- St. Mark United Methodist Church Atlanta
- stabbings
- stalking
- Stanley Hauerwas
- Stedfast Baptist Church
- Stephen Jimenez
- Stephen V. Sprinkle
- Steve Grand
- Stomping and Kicking Violence
- Stonewall
- Stonewall Inn
- Strangulation
- Student Non-Discrimination Act
- suicide
- Sumdol Presbyterian Church Korea
- synagogue bombing
- Ted Cruz
- teen suicide
- Tennessee
- Terlingua
- Texas
- Texas A&M GLBT Center
- Texas A&M University
- Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission
- Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
- Texas Christian University (TCU)
- Texas Rangers
- The Center (Orlando)
- The Center of Southwest Florida
- The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA)
- The Pink Swastika
- The View
- Thomas Merton
- Torture and Mutilation
- Trans Pride Initiative
- trans-panic defense
- Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR)
- Transgender Equality
- transgender persons
- Transgender women
- Transgender women of color
- TransGriot
- TransOhio
- transphobia
- Trevor Project
- Truth Wins Out
- Tucson Shooting Rampage
- Two Sisters Bookery
- Two-Spirit people
- Tyler Area Gays (TAG)
- Tyler Clementi
- U.S. Air Force
- U.S. Army
- U.S. Coast Guard
- U.S. Department of Defense
- U.S. Department of Education
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
- U.S. House of Representatives
- U.S. Justice Department
- U.S. Marines
- U.S. Navy
- U.S. Postal Service (USPS)
- U.S. Presidential Inauguration
- U.S. Secret Service
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. State Department
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Uganda
- UNC-Chapel Hill LGBTQ Center
- UNC-W Film Studies Program
- Unfinished Lives blog
- Unfinished Lives Book
- Unfinished Lives Book Signings
- Unfinished Lives Project
- Unfinished Lives Project Team
- Unfinished Song
- Unfinishedlivesblog.com
- United Church of Chapel Hill
- United Methodist Church
- United Nations
- University of Wyoming
- Unsolved LGBT Crimes
- Utah
- vandalism
- Vehicular violence
- Vicki Nantz Films
- Victory Fund
- Vigil
- Vigils
- Virginia
- Vito Russo
- Washington
- Washington State
- Washington, D.C.
- Watchmen on the Walls
- Westboro Baptist Church
- WFAA-TV
- White supremacist groups
- Who Trampled the Rainbow Flag? – Book
- Wilton Manors
- Wipe Out Homophobia
- Wisconsin
- women
- Women's Rights Struggle
- Woodlands 10
- Word of Faith Fellowship
- World AIDS Day
- World Council of Churches (WCC)
- Wyoming
Archives
- April 2017
- July 2016
- June 2016
- November 2015
- September 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
Where are our readers?
Recent Comments
- tgflux on Are Gay Suicides “Collateral Damage”? Gay Man Hanged From A Tree in Atlanta
- MJ on Suspected Murderer of Gay Texan Arrested in Indiana
- jerbearinsantafe on Suspected Murderer of Gay Texan Arrested in Indiana
- unfinishedlives on TDOR 2015: Brite Divinity School Hosts a Packed House to Commemorate the Fallen
- Rita Cotterly on TDOR 2015: Brite Divinity School Hosts a Packed House to Commemorate the Fallen
Publisher: Steve Sprinkle (Project Director)
Steve Sprinkle
Unfinished Lives: Remembering LGBT Hate Crime VictimsBrite Divinity School/Texas Christian UniversityFort Worth TXprofessor, minister, author, blogger, LGBTQ advocate
Follow Unfinished Lives on Facebook
follows us on networked blogs
Follow Unfinished Lives on Google+ Google+Blog: Unfinished Lives Topics:LGBT, GLBTQ, Hate Crimes Top Posts
- Gay New Jersey Man Beaten To Death; Plea Bargains for His Killers May Reduce Charges Drastically
- Alleged Hate Rapist of Terlingua Teen Out On Hush-Hush Bail
- New York Gay Man Attacked by Hasidic Jewish Safety Patrol Members; Five Arrested So Far
- Infamous Lesbian Murder Case Cracked in Texas: Alleged Shooter Arrested After Two-Year Investigation
- Homophobia Kills Straight People, Too
- Richard Hernandez's Alleged Murderer Incompetent to Stand Trial?
- Gay College Student Beaten by Homophobes, Ignored by Oklahoma Police
- 10 Year Old KKK Hate Preacher
- Another Delay in Notorious Dallas Gay Dismemberment Trial
Anti-Violence Programs
- Anti-Defamation League of New England
- BRAVO: Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization
- Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE)
- Center for Preventing Hate
- Center on Halsted
- Center On Halsted Anti-Violence Project
- Colorado Anti-Violence Program
- Community United Against Violence
- Equality Michigan
- Equality Virginia: Anti-Violence Project
- F.O.R.G.E. Sexual Violence Project
- Families United Against Hate; FUAH
- Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV)
- Gender Public Advocacy Coalition
- GLOV/Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence
- GLSEN/Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network
- Kansas City Anti-Violence Project
- Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center
- Milwaukee LGBT Community Center
- National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)
- National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
- New York City Anti-Violence Project
- OutFront Minnesota
- Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
- SOS Homophobie
- Stonewall (UK)
- Survivor Project
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project
- The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA)
- The Network / La Red
- The Northwest Network
- Trans Women's Anti-Violence Program
- United Community Against Gay Hate Crimes
- United Nations Office of Human Rights
- Western North Carolina Citizens For An Ending to Institutional Bigotry
Blogroll
- @unfinishedlives
- AngieZapta.com
- Back 2 Stonewall
- Beyond Homophobia/Gregory Herek, Ph.D.
- Box Turtle Bulletin
- Boy In Bushwick
- EgonCohen.com
- EnGender
- Follow us on Facebook
- G+
- G+
- Gay Politics
- Gay Russia
- Google Feed
- Google+ – UnfinishedLives
- Milkboys: the Boys Blog
- National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)
- NativeOut
- Oklahomans for Equality
- Patheos.com/Carl Gregg
- Queer Rising
- Queerty.com
- SGL Café
- The Advocate
- The Dallas Voice
- Trans Women's Anti-Violence Program
- TransGriot
- Truth Wins Out
- Tumblr – Unfinished Lives
- Unfinished Lives and Steve Sprinkle on Google Scholar
- Unfinished Lives Fan Page
- Unfinished Lives on Huffington Post
- Wipe Out Homophobia
Endorsers
Foundations and Organizations
- ACLU/American Civil Liberties Union
- Anti-Defamation League of New England
- Arcus Foundation
- Austin Pride Foundation
- AWAB/Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
- Back 2 Stonewall
- Center for Anti-Violence Education (CAE)
- Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
- Center for Homicide Research
- Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry: CLGS
- Center For Lesbian and Gay Studies: CLAGS
- Center for Preventing Hate
- Center on Halsted
- Civil Rights Memorial Center
- Craig Cohen Animal Advocacy Project (CCAAP)
- Crossroads Community Center
- Dallas Transgender Advocates and Allies
- Deaf Queer Resource Center
- Diverse and Resilient (Milwaukee)
- E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation
- Equality Alabama
- Equality Florida
- Equality Maine
- Equality Michigan
- Equality North Carolina
- Equality Texas
- Equality Toledo
- Fairness Fort Worth
- Faith In America
- Fight Hate Now
- FORGE (For Ourselves: Reworking Gender Expression)
- Fort Worth PFLAG
- Gay American Heroes Foundation
- Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund
- Gay Russia
- Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV)
- Genderfold Action Alliance of the UCC Church
- Georgetown University LGBTQ Center
- Gill Foundation
- GLAAD/Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
- GLBT Resource Center of Texas A&M University
- GLSEN/Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network
- Grupo Gay da Bahia
- Harvey B. Milk Foundation
- Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County, Indiana
- Houston (TX) Clergy Council
- HRC Religion and Faith Program
- Human Rights Campaign
- Inclusive Community Coalition of Columbus, Indiana
- Indiana University Purdue University Columbus
- Institute for Welcoming Resources
- Integrity
- James Byrd Jr. Foundation
- Kentucky Equality Federation
- LGBTQ Religious Studies Center
- Matthew Shepard Foundation
- Michael Sandy Foundation
- National Center for Lesbian Rights
- National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE)
- National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
- National LGBT Bar Association
- NativeOut
- Newark (NJ) Pride Alliance Youth Caucus
- Out Youth
- OutFront Minnesota
- Outlinc
- OutServe
- PFLAG
- PFLAG El Paso
- Phelps-a-thon
- Pride Alliance of Columbus, Indiana
- Queer Rhetoric Project
- Queer Rising
- Reconciling Ministries Network
- Ryan Keith Skipper Foundation
- Sean’s Last Wish
- Servicemembers United
- Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
- Shower of Stoles Project
- Sioux Falls Center for Equality
- SLDN/Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
- SOS Homophobie
- Soulforce
- Southern Poverty Law Center
- Stonewall (UK)
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project
- Texas Freedom Network
- The Center – Orlando
- The Civil Rights Agenda (TCRA)
- The Equality Network (Oklahoma)
- The Fellowship
- The Trevor Project
- Trans Pride Initiative
- Transgender Foundation of America
- Transrespect Versus Transphobia Worldwide
- TrueChild
- Truth Wins Out
- Tyler Area Gays (TAG)
- United Campus Ministry in Aggieland
- United Nations Office of Human Rights
- Western North Carolina Citizens For An Ending to Institutional Bigotry
- Wipe Out Homophobia
- Youth First Texas
Hate Crime Links
- AngieZapta.com
- Anti-Defamation League of New England
- Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes page at Wikipedia
- Back 2 Stonewall
- Center for Homicide Research
- Equality Michigan
- Fight Hate Now
- Gay American Heroes Foundation
- GLAAD Hate Crime Resource Kit
- Hate Crimes Bill
- Human Rights Campaign’s Hate Crimes Page
- NativeOut
- SOS Homophobie
- Southern Poverty Law Center
- Trans Women's Anti-Violence Program
- Truth Wins Out
- United Nations Office of Human Rights
- Western North Carolina Citizens For An Ending to Institutional Bigotry
- Wipe Out Homophobia
Hosts of Our Presentation
- Academy of Religious Leadership
- ACH Child and Family Services
- Agapé Metropolitan Community Church
- Alliance of Baptists
- Another Story, Arlington, TX
- Austin Pride Foundation
- AWAB/Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
- Barton College
- Brite Divinity School
- Cathedral of Hope Dallas
- Cathedral of Hope Houston
- Duke Divinity School
- Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth
- Equality Texas
- Equality Toledo
- First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church
- Fort Worth PFLAG
- Forum on the Military Chaplaincy
- GLBT Resource Center of Texas A&M University
- Harris School of Nursing TCU
- Heritage Fund of Bartholomew County, Indiana
- Highland Park Baptist Church – Austin
- Human Rights Commission of Columbus, Indiana
- Inclusive Community Coalition of Columbus, Indiana
- Indiana University Purdue University Columbus
- Ivy Tech Community College, Columbus, Indiana
- MCC Austin at Freedom Oaks
- NC State GLBT Center
- Nolan Catholic High School
- OutServe
- Park View Project
- PFLAG of Polk County, Florida
- Pride Alliance of Columbus, Indiana
- Queer LiberAction
- Resurrection Metropolitan Community Church
- St. Jude’s Metropolitan Community Church
- Two Sisters Bookery
- United Campus Ministry in Aggieland
- University Baptist Church in Austin
- University United Methodist Church Austin
- UTA School of Social Work
Legal Defense
- ACLU/American Civil Liberties Union
- Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)
- Columbia University Law School's Sexuality and Gender Law Clinic
- Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
- National LGBT Bar Association
- Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
- Sylvia Rivera Law Project
- Transgender Law Center
- Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund
Motion Pictures & Documentaries
- A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story
- Alfredo’s Fire
- Amancio: Two Faces on a Tombstone
- Anti-Gay Hate Crime
- Any Mother’s Son/U.S. Navy Petty Officer Allen Schindler
- Boys Don’t Cry
- Brokeback Mountain
- Call Me Malcolm
- Charlie Howard: A Memorial
- Dreams Deferred: The Sakia Gunn Film Project
- For the Bible Tells Me So
- Frontline: Assault on Gay America/Billy Jack Gaither
- Hate Crime
- Investigative Reports – Anti-Gay Hate Crimes
- Licensed to Kill
- Matthew Shepard: Death in the High Desert
- Milk
- Paragraph 175
- Ryan Keith Skipper Documentary
- Saint of 9/11 (Life of Fr. Mychal Judge)
- Small Town Gay Bar
- Soldier’s Girl
- Taking a Chance on God
- Teach Your Children Well (A Documentary Film in Memory of Larry King)
- The Celluloid Closet
- The Laramie Project
- The Park View Project: Talana Kreeger
- The Times of Harvey Milk
- Thorn Grass/Life of Fred C. Martinez, Jr.
- Two Spirits Film Project: Fred C. Martinez
- Valentine Road
- VITO
Box Turtle Bulletin
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
HRC Back Story
- Know About The Gender Identity Movement
- Why Is There A Need For Human Rights?
- Kinds Of Human Rights
- Human Rights Purposes And Violations
- Human Rights For Every Human Incident
- 8 Reasons Human Rights Are Important
- Everything About Human Rights
- Human Rights Issues Education & Law
- We Need To Stand Up For Our Rights And Those Of Others
- Coca-Cola Receives Perfect Score On Human Rights
The Advocate: Daily News
- North Dakota Bill Would Jail Librarians for Not Removing Certain Books
- Alan Cumming Returns OBE Award in Protest 'Toxicity' of British Empire
- Russian Tennis Champ Daria Kasatkina Says She's Relieved After Coming Out
- Feds Seek Input on National PrEP Coverage
- A Few Minutes With LGBTQ+ Ally and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown
- Video Shows Tyre Nichols Beaten by Officers Now Charged in His Death
- The Way We Were's Secret Gay Backstory
- Shocking Paul Pelosi Attack Video, 911 Call Released
- Baker Jack Phillips Loses Appeal in Trans Woman's Discrimination Suit
- Gay Democratic Rep. Vows to Check Boebert & Greene on Oversight Committee
Dallas Voice: Instant Tea
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
Unfinished Lives
- Photos of the Inaugural launch of "The Feral Christian Radio Hour", hosted by Rev. Dr. Barbara Heptig on The Pirate… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 years ago
- For your Further Sunday Meditation this Stonewall 50, Friends. Hat tip to Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg for sharing it with u… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 years ago
- For your Sunday Meditation, Friends. Where Jesus is, the brokenhearted gather. Christ's is a door that is never loc… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 years ago
- God willing, I shall be preaching the 10 A.M. Sunday Service at Lake Highlands Presbyterian Church, 8525 Audelia Rd… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 3 years ago
- Opinion | Kamala Harris hits a home run washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/… 3 years ago