Editor’s Note: Please see our latest story on the tragic suicide of Kenneth Weishuhn: “14-Year Old Suicide Victim Was Receiving Death Threats For Being Gay.”
A 14-year old gay teen died by suicide Saturday in Primghar, Iowa, after coming out as gay and being bullied for months, according to a report. The Eldridge Funeral Home lists a short obituary for Kenneth James Weishuhn Jr., stating Kenneth J. Weishuhn Jr. passed away on Sunday, April 15. Primghar, Iowa is a small town of about 909, according to the 2010 census.
There are no other news reports yet, but there is a Facebook group created in his memory.
One entry notes, “Its sad to see how people cannot just see past a persons identity and just see them as a human,” while another reads, “You took his happiness away from him..,” and another, “No one deserves to be bullied! My sympathies to the family and friends of Kenneth! And to the kids that bullied him hope you sleep okay knowing that you drove a young man to an early fate, you should be ashamed of yourself!”
A Facebook page which appears to be that of the same Kenneth James Weishuhn lists his nickname as Rodney. The last entry was March 30. A tribute video, below, was published to YouTube yesterday.
A Pinterest page with Kenneth James Weishuhn’s name says, “ I love Louis Tomlinson, A lot.” One section, titled, “When I get married. (:” has several photos of same-sex couples. Another, titled, “Inspiration,” offers several “It gets better” images, and a quote from Glee star Chris Colfer:
There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s a lot wrong with the world you live in.
To which Weishuhn added, “I hope so.”
Another image reads, “Never be bullied into silence.”
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My heart breaks and bleeds for this young man and his family and friends. Such a tragedy that never should have happened.
Every time I hear of another LGBT teen taking their own lives in the face of bullying, I cry my eyes out. There was a time this could have been me. When will the bullying end??
My heart bleeds too. As a teacher, I see too much bullying, but I always stamp on it in even its smallest forms. (They soon learn to hide it from me though) I'm finally going to do my little bit to try to help stop the problem in a wider forum. It's a novella coming out in early June called 'Give me a Break'. I hope that everyone who reads it will come away with new ideas for how to handle and stop the problem.
Every time I read of yet another gay kid needlessly dying I first suffer with volcanic anger – then profound sadness. For every child who gets to the point of suicide, there are probably thousands who suffer in silence. Many of these kids don't even have parental support. Children getting kicked out when they come out is still a national tragedy.
This is impossibly sad. There must be a way to stop this. There has to be.
Is this what the people who bully and hate want? This beautiful child, young man, and all his promise are now lost because of hate and intolerance.
Yes, it is what gay-bashing bigots want. Alarmed by increasing societal acceptance of gay human beings, they are acting against reason, in hopes of shoving all gay people back into a closet. Any means towards that goal is good for them. Just as sadistic anti-gay bullies take pleasure from inflicting suffering on gay people, they take pleasure from driving a gay victim to suicide.
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