Two gay teens bullied to death were
remembered this weekend.
Seth Walsh was remembered at a memorial
service Friday night in Tehachapi, California, while Asher Brown was
laid to rest in Houston on Saturday.
13-year-old Walsh hanged himself after
he was harassed by classmates for being gay.
Brown shot himself in his dad's closet
on Sept. 23 after bullying over his sexuality became unbearable for
the 13-year-old.
“These kids are the true heroes of
this whole thing,” David Truong, Brown's uncle said at the service,
referring to Brown's six friends who spoke at the event. “They are
speaking out, and we need to support them.”
Houston City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones
told mourners that she and Mayor Annise Parker, who is openly
lesbian, were backing a zero tolerance anti-bullying law to be named
“Asher's Rule,” the Dallas Voice reported.
Truong told the paper that his nephew
was a victim of hate; his death was not simply a “gay issue.”
“This is a hate issue, and we are not
going to rest until all children are safe from hate at school,” he
said.
More than 500 people attended the
Friday night memorial service for Seth Walsh in California.
Walsh died Tuesday, nine days after his
attempt to take his own life by hanging left him in a coma.
“He was the best brother ever,”
Shawn Walsh, 11, told mourners, the Tehachapi News reported.
“Sometimes Seth was a pain in the butt, but he would protect me. I
wish I could have done the same for him. I'm not a fighting person.
Neither was Seth. I just wish people could have been nicer to him.”
Brown and Walsh were among the rash of
teens who have committed suicide after being bullied because they
were gay.