it gets better

As is well known by now, a few months ago, six teens, who were repeatedly ridiculed and taunted by their peers for being (or being perceived as) gay, took their lives, all within a six week span. The suicides of Asher Brown, 13; Seth Walsh, 13; Justin Aaberg, 15; Billy Lucas, 15; Tyler Clementi, 18; and Raymond Chase, 19 prompted a national conversation on bullying and galvanized gay celebrities and their straight allies to speak out against gay hate. Dan Savage, the popular sex and relationship columnist, launched It Gets Better, a suicide prevention project for gay teens. Savage’s campaign includes a series of Web videos of queer and straight adults touting the message that life after middle and high school gets, well, better.

The "It Gets Better" video project, which has become a viral phenomenon in the past month, will be turned into a book with proceeds to benefit organizations that help LGBT youths.

Anna Paquin, known to many as Sookie Stackhouse on HBO's True Blood is the latest member of the cast to create an “It Gets Better” video entry for the Trevor Project. Paquin, who is bisexual, offers words of wisdom to youth who are struggling with the difficulites of being LGBT.

Anna Paquin, known to many as Sookie Stackhouse on HBO's True Blood is the latest member of the cast to create an “It Gets Better” video entry for the Trevor Project. Paquin, who is bisexual, offers words of wisdom to youth who are struggling with the difficulites of being LGBT.

After 9,000 fans and a 12-year-old boy urged the Boston Red Sox to create a video message for the It Gets Better campaign, the team released its video Friday. The 60-second message features Red Sox manager Terry Francona, team captain Jason Varitek, and third baseman Kevin Youkilis. It also features LGBT fans and members of "Red Sox Nation" like Kristen Rosa, a Smith College student and Red Sox fan.

The "It Gets Better" video universe for LGBT youth now includes 13 senators who released their own version Wednesday. The video features Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Udall (D-Colo.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

The LGBT men and women of the New York City Fire Department, from paramedics, EMTs, and firefighters, show that courage comes in many forms.

Prepare to get emotional as we look back on the success of the It Gets Better Project and look forward to an even brighter future!

At Logo's Hot 100 Party last week, out comic and Chelsea Lately costar Fortune Feimster and out actor Nicol Paone sat down to film a short video contribution for the "It Gets Better Project."

Police were once considered enemies of LGBT people; indeed, the event generally considered to have spurred the modern gay rights movement was a police raid on a gay bar, New York City’s Stonewall Inn.

The San Francisco Police Department and Mayor Ed Lee want you to know that it gets better. "Today our police department joins the nationwide campaign to end bullying of LGBT youth by producing a heartfelt video that provides a message of hope and encouragement that it will get better," Lee said. "San Francisco is a city that prides itself on embracing equality for all and this video is another great example of our commitment to reinforcing our City's values."

The NOH8 Campaign just released an anti-bullying video that addresses many of the issues contributing to the way gay and lesbian youth are thought about by their peers. Topics from religion-based bigotry, blood donation discrimination for gay men, the absence of marriage equality and the ban on adoption by same-sex parents are all included. Among the many celebrities who speak out in this video is Cindy McCain. She talks specifically about the ban on gays and lesbians not being allowed to serve openly in the military. Drew Carey, Shanna Moakler, Alec Mapa, Meredith Eaton, Debra Wilson, Tori Spelling, Meghan McCain, Hal Sparks, Laura Ling, Terry Kennedy, Vanessa Simmons, Pauley Perrette, Kristen Vangsness and Eric Balfour star in this additional video by the NO H8 Campaign for It Gets Better:

The White House on Thursday released a video of President Obama telling gay youth that “It gets better.”Obama’s video is the latest submission to a YouTube program launched by columnist Dan Savage to raise awareness around teen suicide and provide support to at-risk gay youth.

In the past couple of weeks, numerous celebrities have posted videos online or joined campaigns such as Give A Damn and It Gets Better, which aim to spread awareness about LGBT issues in an effort to prevent suicide among LGBT youth and put an end to the anti-gay bullying epidemic. Thanks to Kathy Griffin, Anne Hathaway, Joe Jonas, Margaret Cho, Lance Bass, Tim Gunn, Wanda Sykes, Ellen Degeneres, Judith Light, Lily Tomlin, Mae Whitman, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Cyndi Lauper, Colin Farrell, Elton John, Ricky Martin, Rachael Harris, Idina Menzel, Chris Colfer, Sarah Silverman, Anna Paquin, Jason Mraz, Whoopi Goldberg, Sharon Osbourne, Clay Aiken, Ashley Tisdale and the cast of Hellcats, Candice Accola, Ian Somerhalder, Jenny McCarthy, Greg Grunberg, Erika Jayne, Shay Mitchell, Kristin Cavallari, Julie Benz, Michael Chiklis, Katerina Graham, Rex Lee, Ashley Roberts and all the other celebrities who put their time in to spread these important messages.

California College of the Arts (CCA) has joined the It Gets Better Project, an online video campaign aimed at eliminating suicide among LGBTQ people by providing real-world testimonials that illustrate hope.

From the accounting department to the directors, producers, anchors, and actors working on the company's slate of programming, the lesbian and gay employees of NBC Universal have gotten together for a slickly-produced "It Gets Better" video.