Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley evokes the
memory of gay teens Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh, Asher Brown, Justin
Aaberg and Billy Lucas in his It Gets Better video.
The Democratic senator begins his
videotaped message to troubled teens by remembering the recent
suicides of five gay teens.
“In the past six months we learned
about the tragic deaths of young Asher Brown, Billy Lucas, Justin
Aaberg, Seth Walsh and Tyler Clementi, who committed suicide after
being bullied because they were gay or perceived to be gay,”
Merkley says.
“Sadly, these are just a few of the
kids who have been victimized simply for being who they are. It's
heartbreaking.”
Merkley goes on to ask adults and other
teenagers to get involved when they witness bullying, and urges
troubled gay teens contemplating suicide to hang in there.
“Please hang in there, don't give up,
it will get better,” he adds. (The video is embedded in the right
panel of this page.)
Merkley is the latest politician to
join the It
Gets Better Project.
Other celebrities and high-profile
politicians who have created videos include President
Barack Obama, Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, New
York Governor David Paterson, Fort
Worth Councilman Joel Burns, rocker
Adam Lambert and actor Neil
Patrick Harris.