WATCH: 'Christian' Family's Terrifying Response to Son Coming Out & Fundamentalist Christian "love" on display when gay son comes out 28AUG14

THERE is nothing Christian or loving in this families response to their son's coming out. How sad for all of them involved.

WATCH: 'Christian' Family's Terrifying Response to Son Coming Out

When Daniel Pierce told his extended family he was gay, he didn't expect the violent, hateful reaction he received. He is now staying with a family friend, away from his abusers.

BY Sunnivie Brydum

August 28 2014 11:33 AM ET UPDATED: August 28 2014 6:20 PM ET

A 19-year-old gay man is safe and staying with a family friend in Atlanta, Georgia, after suffering physical and verbal abuse at the hands of his stepmother, father, and grandparents when he told them he was gay.

Daniel Pierce filmed his family's reaction to his confirmation that he was gay in chilling first-hand look at the violence and rejection that can result when parents don't accept their child's sexual orientation. 

The video, which Pierce captured on his cell phone and a coworker uploaded, has been viewed nearly 800,000 times on YouTube at press time, since it was published Wednesday evening. Pierce's boyfriend set up a GoFundMe account to help his partner cover living expenses, as the family made good on its threat to cut the teenager off financially, even taking his car. At press time, the GoFundMe page has raised more than $20,000. 

Pierce's aunt, Teri Cooper, confirmed the video's authenticity to The Advocate, explaining that she picked Daniel up on Wednesday after responding to a frantic text alerting her that his family was trying to stage an "intervention" to "pray away the gay." Cooper says when she arrived at the home, the family wouldn't let her inside, but Pierce emerged with a split lip. Cooper says that wound came from his stepmother, who punched him in the mouth during the altercation that can be overheard in the video. 

Cooper also confirmed that Pierce is now staying with her and supportive friends in Atlanta, where he is safe, though still shaken by the week's events and the surrounding publicity from his assault quickly going viral. Cooper explained that Pierce had just started classes last week at Georgia Highlands College, where he plans to major in psychology. 

In the opening moments of the video, Pierce's grandmother can be heard telling the young man that she has known since he was a small child that he was gay. Nevertheless, the woman tells her grandson that she believes he has made a choice to be gay, that it is "a path [he has] chosen". When he tries to refute her claims by pointing to "scientific proof" that sexual orientation is innate, she says she believes in "the word of God," not so-called science. 

Cooper says that despite their reliance on scripture in rejecting one of their own, Pierce's family is not especially religious, and does not regularly attend church services. 

Shortly thereafter, the situation escalates, as Pierce's father tells him he is a disgrace and calls him a "queer," while his stepmother screams at the teenager and begins to hit him. 

While stories of parents accepting and affirming their LGBT children are becoming more common, this clip provides a stark reminder that many LGBT youth still face emotional, physical, and spiritual violence in their families of origin. Familial rejection is one of the leading causes of the high number of LGBT youth who are homeless — estimates have found that as many as 40 percent of homeless youth are LGBT-identified.

Aug 28, 2014 at 04:59 PM EDT

Fundamentalist Christian "love" on display when gay son comes out

by Steveningen

Trigger Warning: The video below contains severe verbal and physical abuse.
I'm still shaking with anger and revulsion after watching this video recorded by a young man who has come out to his clearly Fundamentalist Christian Family. The young man's (note) stepmother, after telling her stepson that she has known since he was a child that he was gay, chides him for making the "choice" to become gay. The unidentified man assures her that this is not the case while she begins citing biblical teaching to prove that he is wrong.
After telling him that he has to leave his home, things escalate as another woman begins to berate him in earnest, screaming obscenities at him before physically attacking him as the young man screams in fear and shock. As the video concludes, the father weighs in raving mad, calling him a disgrace. Watch this video only if you have a strong constitution.

http://youtu.be/1df_i26wh-w
This video illustrates very clearly the danger that people and organizations that preach anti-gay bigotry pose to our community. Our streets often become home for children who come out in a family such as the one we see in this video. The Williams Institute estimates that 40% of children who end up homeless are LGBT. Further, The Trevor Project reports that LGBT youth are 4 times more likely than the general population to attempt suicide and that suicide is the "2nd leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 24." Given the brutality of this five minute clip, it is easy to understand these statistics.
Dan Savage has reached out to try to find this young man to offer aid.

That was hard to listen to. My heart breaks for that poor, brave, tough kid. What the fuck is wrong with these people? We could have a fundraiser up and running for this poor kid by morning—if we knew who he was and where he was.

I hope he finds Dan's message and gets in touch with him. If you or someone you know find themselves in a similar situation, know that there are resources available. The National Runaway Switchboard at 1-800-RUNAWAY as well as The Ali Forney Center are two excellent organizations who stand by ready to help. No child should find themselves homeless or have to live in an abusive situation simply for being who they are.
UPDATE: With many thanks to fellow kos member, sabathiel, the young man has stepped forward. His name is Daniel and you can donate here.

Oh My you guys! I am in tears! I didn't realize that this was even set up for me! I am so thankful for all the comments, support and donations! I don't even know how to thank y'all! I wish I could give each and everyone of you a huge hug! I was trying to respond to everyone but I couldn't keep up!! Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! This is all just so amazing!!! Thank You from the bottom of my heart!!
Daniel

UPDATE 2: With gratitude to cooper888, here is a link to more of Daniel's story. (note) Updated to reflect accuracy

Christian 'Exorcism' Leads to Gay Teen's Suicide 3FEB12

WHAT a sad, heartbreaking story. I can not imagine the depth of despair he must have been in to reach the point that life was no longer worth living. I can't imagine how his family must feel now, the loss of a child, the guilt, the hurt, they need prayers and support to heal and resolve all the issues they are now dealing with. And we all need to search our souls on our relationships. From God's Politics blog......

Eric James Borges via Facebook.

Eric James Borges was teased his entire life for being different. Though he didn’t come out publicly until his sophomore year of college, he recalls emotional and physical abuse as far back as kindergarten for his differences. And though most children undergo some degree of hazing from time to time, the seeming indifference of the adults in his life made matters dramatically worse.
In a video recorded for the “It Gets Better” Project, an LGBT advocacy group focused on offering hope and community to LGBT people on the margins, Borges, 19, recalls being physically assaulted in a full high school classroom while his teacher stood by and watched.
The distressed teen had nowhere to turn at home either. His Christian parents decided to perform a ritual exorcism on him with the hope of “curing” him of his orientation. When that failed, they kicked him out of the house.
Though Borges went on to advocate for LGBT rights through the “It Gets Better” Project and through his work with The Trevor Project (a group committed to preventing suicide among LGBT teens), the demons of his past still lingered. Despite finding a community that affirmed and embraced who he was, the damage had already been done.
He killed himself on Jan. 11.
In the suicide note he left, Borges wrote:

My pain is not caused because I am gay. My pain was caused by how I was treated because I am gay.

This is a point lost on many Christians who condemn what they call the “gay lifestyle.” Not only are we, as followers of Christ, called to set aside our judgment, hateful rhetoric and disdain for those in the LGBT community; we’re bound by a covenant of compassion to advocate for their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.
If we don’t, we’re no better than the teacher who stood by indifferently as his students beat Borges in his classroom.
In spite of the tragedy of Borges’ suicide, he left behind some gifts by which we all can remember him. In the face of all he had suffered, he still mustered words of love and hope for his fellow LGBT teens.
The following is a quote from the “It Gets Better” video Borges made in December 2011:

You will date, fall in love, fall out of love, have your heart broken, just like the rest of us. You will love, and be loved, and I love you. you have an entire life fit to burst with opportunities ahead of you. Don’t ever give up, and don’t ever for one second think that you aren’t a valuable and beautiful contribution to this world.

Unfortunately, some of the power of the positive message can’t help but be lost in his absence. What’s worse, Borges' story is not atypical.
An estimated 30-40 percent of LGBT youth have been reported to have attempted suicide.
LGBT people between the ages of 15 and 24 are four times more likely to commit suicide than their peers.
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among LGBT people in this age group.
The same population is three times more likely to report hazing, abuse and/or harassment by peers than straight people of the same age.
It’s easy to feel there’s no hope for progress in the Christian community when we hear such stories. After all, silence on the matter simply isn’t enough. Ambivalence is equivalent to complicity. For this, we are collectively responsible for the sins of indifference, inaction and aggressive hate, all in the name of Jesus.
There are a few glimmers of hope in the overwhelming darkness. Organizations such as the Marin Foundation seek to “build a bridge between the religious and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in a non-threatening, research and biblically oriented fashion.” And there are others.
Unfortunately, too often the advocacy work is left to members of the LGBT population themselves. For real, systemic change to take hold, those on the side of privilege (ie, those not harassed and abused for our inherent sexual orientation or identity) to care enough to say that things have to change.
Not just because we know someone who is gay. Not just because we feel bad for those pushed to the margins. But because we are called out by Jesus himself to confront such evil, to call it out, and to rob it of its power through the transforming power of love.
This is an active love, and not simply a rhetorical, tolerant, “love the sinner, hate the sin” kind of cop-out love. For those whom we love, we are willing to risk that which we hold dear for their sake. We are willing to forgo the acceptance of our peers to stand side-by-side with our marginalized sisters and brothers.
Loving in word is not enough. We have to demonstrate such sacrificial, Christ-like love with our whole lives.
Until then, the deaths of so many thousands of persecuted youth are on our heads.
Christian Piatt is the creator and editor of BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLE and BANNED QUESTIONS ABOUT JESUS. He co-created and co-edits the “WTF: Where’s the Faith?” young adult series with Chalice Press, and he has a memoir on faith, family and parenting being published in early 2012 called PREGMANCY: A Dad, a Little Dude and a Due Date.