Mother: Gay Son Suffered Brutal Harassment at 4-h Camp

Harassment at 4-H Camp
Mother Says Gay Son Was Tortured at Camp

RIPLEY, W.Va. (WSAZ) — A mother from Jackson County, W.Va., says her teenage son was brutally harassed at summer 4-H camp because he’s gay.

“He was unconscionable, he was, he could barely speak,” says the boy’s mother, Valera White.

White said the language was so vile that she can’t categorize what was said. In fact, she didn’t find out what these campers said until the police report was filed.

The catch is that police can not do much because there is no law that protects White’s 15-year-old son from what happened. West Virginia does not include sexual orientation in its hate crimes law.

The family said what happened at camp isn’t their first experience with being ridiculed because their teenage son is gay. Doing things like going to the grocery store have become enormous tasks for White and her son because the taunting seems unending.

White’s son says he cannot go to the movies anymore. When asked if he wanted to tell WSAZ.com what kind of comments people made to him, he said, “it’s not worth it.”

A spokeswoman for the 4H camp says that the two boys in question were sent home from camp, though the family says there were actually three people.

The spokesperson also says 4H always works to create an environment for children to feel safe. She says that counselors were nearby during the attack.

See Mother: Gay Son Suffered Brutal Harassment at Camp WSAZ-TV

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Missouri’s first openly gay senator married over weekend

Jolie Justus, Missouri’s first openly gay senator, took her seat on the Senate floor as a married woman for the first time Monday.

But Justus’ marriage isn’t recognized in Missouri because of a 2004 constitutional amendment overwhelmingly approved by voters and legislators alike that mandates a marriage is between one man and one woman.

“Missouri is not ready for same-sex marriage,” Justus said Monday, though she also said she was “overwhelmed” with congratulations upon returning to work.

Justus and her partner, Shonda Garrison, were among 17 couples that traveled on a bus over the weekend to get married in Iowa, the state that most recently legalized same-sex marriages.

“I’ve been fighting, as everybody knows, for equality for years now, and it would mean a lot to them to have us on the bus,” said Justus, D-Jackson County. “And to my partner and me personally, it meant a lot for us to be on the bus, too, because we wanted to have that moment with those 16 other couples, and I’m glad that we did.”

Some senators who voted for the 2004 amendment banning same-sex marriage declined to comment on the recent nuptials. Sen. Gary Nodler, R-Joplin, said: “I’m not going to respond to it.”