Gay valedictorian banned om speakg at Covgton graduatn 'not surprised' by D.C. ntroversy

Contents:

• REJECTED BY PARENTS, GAY VALEDICTORIAN IS GOG TO LLEGE, WH $50K OM DONORS
• A GAY VALEDICTORIAN FOUGHT BACK AFTER HIS HIGH SCHOOL “CENSORED” HIS GRADUATN SPEECH
• GAY VALEDICTORIAN BANNED OM SPEAKG AT COVGTON GRADUATN 'NOT SURPRISED' BY D.C. NTROVERSY
• NJ HIGH SCHOOL’S GAY VALEDICTORIAN SAYS GRADUATN SPEECH WAS ‘CENSORED’
• BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT AS PROUD 'GAY SON OF GOD' GRADUATN SPEECH
• A FLORIDA CLASS PRINT ULDN’T DISCS BEG GAY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATN SPEECH – SO HE TALKED ABOUT HIS CURLY HAIR
• 1470: WHEN LDS APOSTLE JEFEY HOLLAND CALLS YOU OUT – GAY BYU VALEDICTORIAN MATT EASTON
• GAY VALEDICTORIAN FORCED OUT OF HIS HOME GETS SUPPORT OM ELLEN
• GAY VALEDICTORIAN: ‘IT’S OL THAT MY SPEECH IS SPREADG’ (W/VIO OF SPEECH)

REJECTED BY PARENTS, GAY VALEDICTORIAN IS GOG TO LLEGE, WH $50K OM DONORS

“AWKWARD CONVERSION THERAPY”Trouble at home began for Owen durg his sophomore year of high school, when his Southern Baptist parents disvered he was gay.

Nothg appropriate, but clearly dited that I was gay. Conversn therapy, also known as "reparative therapy" or "ex-gay therapy, " aims to change one’s sexual orientatn or genr inty.

The report also timat tens of thoands of LGBTQ youth currently between the ag of 13 and 17 will unrgo “gay nversn therapy" before they turn Owen, left, was on the swim team at First Coast High School Jacksonville, Florida. They said that gay people would not serve the church.

A GAY VALEDICTORIAN FOUGHT BACK AFTER HIS HIGH SCHOOL “CENSORED” HIS GRADUATN SPEECH

“He has had so much support and so many people reach out and say ‘You're not alone, ’ and ‘It gets better, ’ all of the thgs that we all need to hear when we're queer teenagers and are sufferg, ” Mart, who is also gay, add. ’”When asked what he would say to his sophomore self or other teens facg siar issu at home, he said, “I would tell that sophomore kid to hold their head high, roll their shoulrs back and be exactly who they are. A gay valedictorian had the last lgh when his high school attempted to cut off his graduatn speech after he discsed his g out June 17, Bryce Dershem was liverg a speech to his fellow classmat at Eastern Regnal High School Voorhe, New Jersey when the school prcipal turned off his mic.

GAY VALEDICTORIAN BANNED OM SPEAKG AT COVGTON GRADUATN 'NOT SURPRISED' BY D.C. NTROVERSY

However, this is not the first time a school overseen by the Dce of Covgton Kentucky has e unr natnal media May of last year, the Catholic dce led jt hours before Holy Cross High School's graduatn that the openly gay valedictorian and the stunt uncil print uld not give their planned speech at the Covgton school's official graduatn ceremony.

VOORHEES —The valedictorian at Eastern Regnal High School said he was censored by school officials who cut his microphone when he went off script and started talkg about g out as gay durg his hman a vio of the mencement, Bryce Dershem is talkg about feelg alone when his microphone go silent after prcipal Robert Lull walks behd the then walks up to Dershem and appears to take a piece of paper om the podium and the microphone.

NJ HIGH SCHOOL’S GAY VALEDICTORIAN SAYS GRADUATN SPEECH WAS ‘CENSORED’

The approved speech had removed all of Dershem's referenc to beg gay, battlg mental illns and a eatg disorr bee admistrators said mencement is not a "therapy ssn, " Dersham told NBC Philalphia. A Brigham Young Universy stunt quoted the Book of Mormon before he me out as a "gay son of God" durg his mencement dience cheered on Matt Easton, a polil science valedictorian, on Friday as he ma the announcement publicly for the first time at the school owned by The Church of J Christ of Latter-day Sats.

"As such, I stand before the Lord, my fay, my graduatg class today to say that I am proud to be a gay son of God. "Easton, who terned for Utah Senator Mt Romney's 2018 mpaign, had reportedly told close fay and iends but never announced publicly that he was gay.

BYU VALEDICTORIAN OUT AS PROUD 'GAY SON OF GOD' GRADUATN SPEECH

While I don’t speak for everyone -- my own experience is all I n vouch for -- I hope that people know that we ARE here at BYU, and we’re not gog anywhere anytime soon, ” Easton wrote a Twter 'S GRADUATION SPEECH PULLED OVER CHRISTIAN CONTENTBYU officials approved his speech ahead of time and, acrdg to the school’s webse, BYU’s Honor Co don’t ban gay stunts, but prohibs “homosexual behavr, ” cludg all forms of physil timacy that “give exprsn to homosexual feelgs. High school grad uldn't say 'gay' speech, so he did this stead.

The class print at a Florida high school says he wasn’t allowed to share his experience as a gay stunt his graduatn speech or how the state’s so-lled “Don’t Say Gay” law will affect stunts like him, so he talked about somethg else that mak him a ltle different om his classmat – his curly hair. Moricz me out durg his hman year and was the first openly-gay class print at the school, so he felt a rponsibily to addrs the ntroversy. In April of 2019 Brigham Young Universy valedictorian Matt Easton me out as a fahful gay Mormon durg his valedictorian addrs, which was pre-approved by the LDS Church.

A FLORIDA CLASS PRINT ULDN’T DISCS BEG GAY HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATN SPEECH – SO HE TALKED ABOUT HIS CURLY HAIR

I have a gay son who I have discsed so many thgs wh and Matt gave me even more sight to his plight.

Everyone knows that “I am gay” announcements are a middle fger to the church, and I fd very disrpectful to them. If you are gog to be gay, be gay, but dont go to their terrory and be disrpectful to them.

Y, y I know they have done harm and people are pissed… but I still thk you dont need to announce you are gay a BYU speech. The gay valedictorian whose story went viral this summer after he was forced out of his home and uldn’t pay for llege ma an appearance Monday on “The Ellen DeGener Show.

1470: WHEN LDS APOSTLE JEFEY HOLLAND CALLS YOU OUT – GAY BYU VALEDICTORIAN MATT EASTON

”The Emmy-wng talk show host award Seth Owen, 18, now a hman at Geetown, $25, 000 to add to the llege scholarship fund he plans to create for LGBTQ stunts who, like him, do not have the fancial support of their talked to DeGener about how his parents found out about his sexualy and subsequently sent him to a relig “gay nversn therapy” program. “In my sophomore year of high school, my dad went through my phone and found out that I was gay, ” Owen told DeGener, who is a lbian. "After disagreeg wh the teachgs of his fay’s anti-gay church Febary, the middle of his senr year of high school Jacksonville, Florida, Owen was forced to move out of his parents’ home.

GAY VALEDICTORIAN FORCED OUT OF HIS HOME GETS SUPPORT OM ELLEN

One of three valedictorians, Ey Bell held up a sign intifyg herself as gay durg mencement at Roarg Fork High School on May 30. Roarg Fork High School valedictorian Ey Bell holds up a sign intifyg herself as gay durg 2015 mencement.

GAY VALEDICTORIAN: ‘IT’S OL THAT MY SPEECH IS SPREADG’ (W/VIO OF SPEECH)

CARBONDALE — When Ey Bell, one of three valedictorians at Roarg Fork High School, me out as gay as part of a speech about the labels we assign ourselv, she tend to addrs only her 56 classmat, their fai and a few more of the 6, 000 rints of Carbondale. Valedictorian Evan Young was barred om speakg two weeks earlier at Longmont’s Tw Peaks Charter Amy graduatn bee he wouldn’t remove language about beg gay. DeMatteo said Young was barred om liverg his speech not bee he is gay but bee of his “apparent tentn to make a mockery” of the ceremony.

Many gay teens stggle wh isolatn and face bullyg. Acrdg to, a youth suici preventn se, suici is the leadg e of ath among gay and lbian youth natnally. “It’s a strange thg to bond over beg the other gay valedictorian who me out Colorado, ” she said.

“I thk ’s a ltle ironic that I now have this label ‘gay valedictorian of Colorado’ – one of two – after I jt kd of ducked out of the other labels that I’ve had, but I feel like the msage of acceptance has mostly been kept.