In the News: Minn. Gay Teen Gets Death Threats After Coming Out

I just heard about this teenager in Minnesota who is dealing with torment from so-called "religious" kids in his class, (I say "so called" because they're obviously not religious) who have vandalized his home and given him death threats. Just this week in North Carolina another gay teen hung himself because of all the bullying from so-called "religious" kids. Is THIS what religion in Minnesota is teaching kids?  If so, then the religions or churches (likely it's local backwards churches) need to be wiped out of society to achieve harmony. There is something wrong with religions when they promote hatred and intolerance and condone violence, suicides and allow death threats to people who are different. I can't tell you how disgusted I am with right-wing nuts who teach their kids this behavior. - Rob
 
 Noah Ratgen, Minnesota 8th Grader, Says Driveway Was Vandalized With 'God Hates Fags' After Coming Out

HUFFINGTON POST:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/06/noah-ratgen-gay-teen-vandalism-_n_4740520.html


Just days after a Minnesota teen claimed to have received death threats after coming out on social media, another gay student in the same school district has come forward with similar claims.
As local news channel Fox 9 reports, 8th grader Noah Ratgen says his family's driveway was vandalized with "God hates fags" in large letters about a week after he came out on social media last fall.
"It hurt -- just like calling someone fat or ugly," Ratgen, who attends junior high school in the Centennial school district in Circle Pines, Minn., told the news station. Ratgen's parents reported the incident to police, but no arrests have been made to date, according to the report.
"There's no reason to do it at all," he added. "I just don't understand why we're such a big problem."
Ratgen's claims follow those of Ryan Eichenauer, a high school senior who said he received two anonymous letters which contained death threats in class earlier this month. Eichenauer shared a videotaped coming out message on Facebook just before the start of 2014.
 KMSP-TV
  Much like British Olympic diver Tom Daley, Eichenauer refrained from using the terms "gay" or "bisexual" in his coming out video, but nonetheless admitted being attracted to boys.
     In 2012, 17-year-old Jay 'Corey' Jones of Rochester, Minn. commited suicide after allegedly being tormented by his classmates for being gay. That same year, Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District had to fight back after a controversial Rolling Stone article drew attention to its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students in the wake of a rash of teen suicides in the region.