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Todd Ransom: Mormon family breaks silence about gay man’s suicide

LGBTQ Nation • Friday, July 23, 2010 • Filed under: In Memoriam, Utah • Comments (5)

Updated: Monday, July 26, 2010:

Last week, Todd Ransom, a 28 year-old gay man from Orem, Utah, committed suicide.

While it is unclear why exactly Ransom took his life, friends report that he struggled to reconcile his sexual orientation with his Mormon upbringing.

Todd Ransom

There have been few reports of Ransom’s death in the media. Local news outlets have published only brief accounts from when Ransom’s body was discovered July 19.

But in a website memorial launched this weekend, Ransom’s family released this statement:

“Our beloved son, brother and friend took his own life at Battle Creek Canyon near Pleasant Grove, Utah after a long and painful battle with depression.
Some people have said that Todd ended his life because he was gay or felt persecuted by the LDS Church and his family, but this is not true. We loved him unconditionally. We were always there for him.
Todd attempted suicide previously and we know from that experience that his manic depression was a constant thorn in his side and that there were other factors that influenced his suicide. Todd didn’t always agree with us or want to share his life with us, but he was loved by us. That is the undeniable truth.”

Ransom’s death has fueled new debate about suicide among gay Mormons.

Utah bloggers have written that this is the third gay suicide in Utah this month, all of which have been largely ignored by local news outlets — David Standley, 21 of Ogden, took his life on June 30, and Weber State University student Tim Tilley, 20, killed himself on July 11.

And according to the Deseret News, a LDS owned and cultured newspaper:

- Every 11 days a Utah teen commits suicide
- Utah leads the nation in suicide among men 15-24
- Utah has the 11th highest overall suicide rate in the nation
- Suicide is the #1 cause of death among Utah teens

Last year, Ransom signed up to participate in Reed Cowan’s film, 8: The Mormon Proposition, a documentary that chronicled the Mormon Church’s involvement in the passage of California’s Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on gay marriage.

According to Cowan, Ransom left inexplicably before he could appear in front of the camera.

A candlelight vigil for Todd Ransom was held Tuesday at the Utah state capital. (Photo via David Daniels Photography)

But the memorial website goes beyond speculation, and explains with much candor, Ransom’s life and struggles:

“Our lives changed when Todd announced to his family in 2001 that he was gay. Thus began the difficult dance that takes place between a faithful Mormon family and a much-loved son and brother who chooses to live a gay lifestyle.
It was difficult for his parents to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, and this hurt Todd in ways that his parents did not intend. On the other hand, in spite of his upbringing in the LDS Church, Todd insisted that family members affirm his sexuality in ways that put them at odds with their conscience and beliefs.
Todd was very hurt when his parents felt that they could not attend his commitment ceremony with Jake Jacquez, his partner of eight years, however he and Jake were both welcome in our home.”

Ransom was born July 11, 1982 in Princeton, New Jersey. He grew up in Tucson, Arizona and Orem, Utah. He graduated with honors from the University of Utah in May 2009, earning a BS degree in biomedical engineering.

Friends say Ransom left behind a note reading “Sunrise – Accept This Offering.”

A candlelight vigil was held last Tuesday evening on the steps of the Utah state capital. Photos at David Daniels Photography.

Ransom’s obituary here.

With thanks to Laurie Beth’s Grotto for calling our attention to the memorial website.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Gay wrestler Chris Kanyon found dead of apparent suicide

LGBTQ Nation • Saturday, April 3, 2010 • Filed under: In Memoriam, Sports, Television • Comments (1)

Kanyon

Former WWE and WCW wrestler Chris Kanyon was found dead in his New York apartment Friday night, the victim of an apparent suicide.

Kanyon, whose real name was Christopher Klucsaritis, ended his professional wrestling career in 2004, and was the first openly gay wrestler in the WWE.

Kanyon wanted to base his character on that, but the WWE showed interest; he later claimed the WWE released him due to his coming out.

Kanyon reportedly suffered from depression and bi-polar disorder, and had frequently spoken about committing suicide.

According to reports, a pill bottle and “several notes” were found near his body.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Designer Alexander McQueen found dead of apparent suicide

LGBTQ Nation • Thursday, February 11, 2010 • Filed under: In Memoriam • Comments (0)

Alexander McQueen, the gay fashion designer, has been found dead after taking his own life. He was 40 years old.

A source at the designer’s office today confirmed his death, which was followed by a brief statement on the designer’s website.

McQueen was renown for dressing stars such as Kylie and Lady Gaga, and had once described himself as the “pink sheep” of his family.

He was found dead at his home in Green Park, London.

McQueen worked as the head designer at Givenchy for five years before founding the Alexander McQueen and McQ labels. McQueen’s dramatic designs met with critical acclaim and earned him the British Fashion Designer of the Year award four times.

Born Lee Alexander McQueen in London’s east end in 1969, he was the son of a taxi driver and the youngest of six children.

He left school at 16 to work at the Savile Row tailors Anderson & Sheppard, who counted among their clients Prince Charles and former Soviet president Mikhail Gobachev.

Following the stint at Savile Row, he went on to work at Gieves & Hawkes, and then worked in both Japan and Italy.

He later studied at Central Saint Martin’s fashion school in London, and upon graduating McQueen set up his own label in the city’ s East End. He made himself famous with “bumsters” trousers, with a low waistband to reveal the underwear and buttocks underneath, starting a trend which continues to be popular to this day.

McQueen was appointed chief designer at French label Givenchy in October 1996, and in December 2000 he became the creative director for Gucci, which acquired 51% of his company, Alexander McQueen.

In his personal life, McQueen was openly gay, and claimed he had realized his sexual orientation when he was six, however it was not until he was eighteen that he came out to his family.

In the summer 2000, McQueen married his partner George Forsyth, 24, a documentary filmmaker, on a yacht in Ibiza; the relationship ended a few years later.

On February 3, McQueen wrote on his Twitter page that his mother had died the day before, adding: “RIP mumxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.”

Four days later he wrote that he had had an “awful week” but said “friends have been great”, adding: “now i have to some how pull myself together”. His mother’s funeral is due to take place tomorrow.

More on the designer’s life from the BBC.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Brendan Burke dead at 21 — coming out story captured national attention in 2009

LGBTQ Nation • Friday, February 5, 2010 • Filed under: In Memoriam, Sports • Comments (0)

Brendan Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke, who gained national attention just months ago in a moving coming out story profiled by ESPN.com, died today in a tragic automobile accident. He was 21 years old.

“We are saddened to report that Brendan Burke, the youngest son of Leafs president and general manager Brian Burke, succumbed to injuries he suffered in an auto accident … in Indiana,” the Leafs said in a statement Friday night. “The family asks for privacy at this difficult time.”

Burke, who was an assistant on the University of Miami (Ohio) hockey team, was reportedly driving east on a snow-covered U.S. 35 in a Jeep Grand Cherokee when his vehicle slid sideways into an oncoming 1997 Ford Truck,. Burke’s passenger, 18-year-old Mark Reedy, also died in the accident.

The younger Burke rose to national prominence last year when he told his story of the love and acceptance received from his dad after coming out as gay.

In a profile by ESPN sports columnist John Buccigross, Brendan Burke’s story was told in a poignant second-person narration, inviting the reader to put himself into Brendan’s shoes, while describing the young man’s journey into self discovery.

In an excerpt from the essay:

On this night in 2007, you are petrified of your dad. Because you, Brendan Burke, at 19 years old, are about to tell your dad, Mr. Testosterone, that you are gay.”

In a statement in the article from the elder Burke at the time, “I had a million good reasons to love and admire Brendan. This news didn’t alter any of them.”

Brendan told reporters he hoped his story will give others the confidence to come forward.

“I think it’s important my story is told to people because there are a lot of gay athletes out there and gay people working in pro sports that deserve to know there are safe environments where people are supportive regardless of your sexual orientation,” he said.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Sen. Ted Kennedy, longtime advocate for LGBT issues, dead at 77

LGBTQ Nation • Wednesday, August 26, 2009 • Filed under: In Memoriam, Newsmakers, Politics • Comments (0)

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, died shortly before Midnight Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. He was 77.

The man known as the “liberal lion of the Senate” had fought a more than year-long battle with brain cancer, and according to his son had lived longer with the disease than his doctors expected him to.

Kennedy will be remembered as one of the most powerful and influential senators in American history and one of three brothers whose political triumphs and personal tragedies captivated the nation for decades, and as one of the most effective lawmakers in the history of the Senate. He served through five of the most dramatic decades of the nation’s history, including the assassinations of his brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Kennedy’s advocacy for LGBT issues stretches back to the height of the HIV epidemic. The Ryan White Care Act, the largest federally funded program for people living with HIV/AIDS, would not exist if Kennedy did not introduce and usher it through Congress in 1990.

He voted against the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, and had been a lead sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would protect LGBTs in the workplace, since its first introduction in Congress in 1994.

Kennedy has long favored providing benefits to domestic partners of federal employees, which President Obama extended through an executive order in June. He has spoken out against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and for many years has fought in support of the Matthew Shepard Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of federally recognized hate crimes. Named for the gay student who was tortured and murdered in Wyoming in 1998, the legislation may soon become law; the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill earlier this year, and Kennedy again introduced bill in Senate, and the Judiciary Committee held a hearing in June.

Kennedy was influential at the highest levels of government through his final days. He was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor in May 2008, becoming ill just as Democrats were again coming to power with majorities in Congress and a president who admired and respected him. He served almost 47 years in the Senate, the the third-longest serving senator in the chamber’s history.

In July, President Obama awarded Kennedy the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Previously from LGBTQ Nation:

Author E. Lynn Harris dead at 54

LGBTQ Nation • Friday, July 24, 2009 • Filed under: Books and Authors, In Memoriam • Comments (0)

E. Lynn Harris, the author who introduced millions of readers to the “invisible life” of black gay men, died Thursday while on a business trip in Los Angeles.

Harris, 54, was a literary pioneer who wrote a series of novels that exposed readers to characters rarely depicted in literature: black, affluent gay men who were masculine, complex and, sometimes, tormented.

In Memoriam (CNN).

E Lynn Harris Official Website.