News (USA)

El Paso gay teen, bullied for 2 years, commits suicide

El Paso gay teen, bullied for 2 years, commits suicide

EL PASO, Texas — Another bullied gay youth lost to suicide.

El Paso teen Brandon Elizares, 16, took his own life on June 2, according to family and friends.

Brandon Elizares

Brandon’s mother, Zachalyn Elizares, told KFOX-TV on Friday that her son was bullied at school for two years because he did not want to hide the fact that he was gay.

“He got bullied simply for being gay,” Elizares said. “He’s been threatened to be stabbed. He’s been threatened to be set on fire.”

Elizares said the El Paso Independent school district did everything it could to help solve the problem.

“They’ve reprimanded several kids and they did everything that they could,” Elizares said.

Elizares said that Brandon’s friends told her that there was an incident on Friday at school where someone insulted her son and planned to fight him the next week.

Brandon was a student at Andres High School in El Paso.

“My son had every right to live his live the way that he wanted to, without having to fear that people would call him names or threaten to beat him up,” Elizares said.

Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

In My Tribe, Part 2: Gay culture, traditionalists and ‘the new wave’

Previous article

Election officials find 1,000 phony signatures on anti-gay marriage petitions

Next article