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A Message of Hope for LGBTQ Kids in America
(www.unclosetedmedia.com)
This year, state legislatures considered a record-setting 616 anti-LGBTQ bills at least.
In Oklahoma, trans kids lost access to healthcare.
At the national level, the Trump administration cut the LGBTQ youth suicide hotline just weeks after Pride Month, despite a recent study by The Trevor Project finding that 39% of LGBTQ young people seriously considered suicide in the past year, more than 1 in 10 actually did attempt suicide and 90% of queer youth said political attacks on LGBTQ people directly harmed their overall well-being.
While these numbers reveal an urgent crisis, there are silver linings. Last year, 91% of anti-LGBTQ bills were defeated. Countless kids marched in the No Kings protest. Parents are organizing. And allies are popping up in unexpected places.
According to a Trevor Project survey, about a fifth of LGBTQ young people have participated in protests, a sign that civic engagement is surging. LGBTQ people continue to be among the most active groups in public resistance. Richard Rockman’s poem reminds us to stay active, engaged and hopeful.
Even as so many LGBTQ youth struggle, change is coming. More people in Gen Z identify as LGBTQ than any other living generation.