A Texas lawmaker bears his soul. City councilman, Joel Burns, choked back tears and broke down as he spoke of being the victim of school bullying. As NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports, his moving message to gay teens is the latest video to go viral.
Tuesday's Fort Worth city council meeting started off like most others.
"I've never told the story to anyone before tonight."But councilman Joel Burns used the public venue to share a deeply private story.
"The numerous suicides in recent days have upset me so much."Burns displayed photos of teenagers who have recently taken their lives. Kids targeted by bullies because they are perceived as gay. Then, "coming out was painful." Joel Burns reviewed his story.
"One day when I was in the ninth grade, just startingCrowley high school, I was cornered after school by some older kids who after me out. They said that I was a f…, and that I should die and go to hell where I belonged."Burns was compelled to speak out after a rash of troubling have minds. News like the suicide of Rutgers' student Tyler Clementi who jumped off a bridge after his roommate allegedly outed him online. And the 17-year-old in New York, police say savagely assaulted might by gang members after they suspected he was gay. "All of these show that there's still a tremendous amount discrimination, there's stigma attached to being gay."For nearly 12 minutes, Burns spoke from the heart. You could have heard a pin drop in that room. But his audience was much bigger than just the city council chambers. His story went viral. A half million hits on YouTube in just few days. And it's not just the Texas councilmen affected by the headlines. "This needs to be a wake up call to everyone," talk show host. "I attempted to kill myself." And reality TV stars have spoken out, "...all efforts to tell kids that we love them and they don't need to conclude that there is no hope for them.""To those who're feeling delirium tonight, please not. I understand how do you feel. But things will get easier. Please stick around to make those happy memories for yourself." Afterwards, Burns was given a standing ovation. But what the councilman wants is to save lives. For today, Miguel Almague, NBC's News, Los Angeles.
That was incredibly powerful. Yes. A powerful testimony and important conversation. Bullying has been around for a long time, but now that we are talking about. (We are talking a lot about it.) Things are kinda getting open. Hopefully, it will be a better people for him. |