Twelve years ago today, Matthew Shepard lay in a coma at Poudre Valley Hospital after being beaten, tortured, and left tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyoming. The following morning, a cyclist found him, thinking that Matthew was a scarecrow. Matthew died in the hospital on October 12, 1998--a day after National Coming Out Day.

Now with the rash of LGBTQ youth suicides captured in the media, we are painfully reminded of the fragility of queer life and left wondering how many other queer youth are being bullied, harassed, and outed? The numbers are high.

This Tuesday, on the 12th anniversary of ...