Rancho Mirage City Councilmember Takes Stand For Abused Gay Youth

A local councilmember who is openly gay tackled the sensitive issues of teen suicide and bullying Thursday.

Scott Hines opened up at a Rancho Mirage city council meeting urging gay youth to think twice before considering suicide.

Fort Worth, Texas city councilmember Joel Burn’s speech earlier this month telling bullied gay and lesbian youth that life gets better has received millions of hits since it was posted online.

He alluded to that fact that he once considered suicide because the abuse became too much to bare.

Hines said he remembers his abusers by name.

“Bryan, Robert, and Chris were older than me and bigger than me,” he said. “They called me a lot of names — a lot of terrible names. But beyond the verbal harassment, these boys also hurt me physically.”

Hines spoke for more than five minutes.

He paid tribute to six teenage boys who committed suicide last month.

He said he never personally considered taking his own life. But that he could understand why those youth felt trapped and cornered with no exit but death.

“You might feel alone right now and feel like you don’t have any friends,” he said. “But I’m here to tell you that you will. You just have to find your tribe.”

When he was in junior high he knew he was gay. But he never imagined that it was possible to have a family.

Now he does and he thanked his husband John and three kids for their support.

He’s served closeted in the military and was eventually honorably discharged on his own terms.

Hines stressed that life gets better and that the sky is the limit in life.

“I know what its like to lose your family,” he said. “Luckily, my parents and siblings eventually came around, but you can create your own family.”

Hines said there’s nothing wrong with being gay.

His speech ended with applause.

Fellow councilmembers thanked him for his emotional speech — some of whom sharing their own experiences being the victims of bullies.

Afterwords, Hines said the speech hit him harder than expected. But that he hopes he saved some lives.

“I want the teens out there that might be considering suicide to rethink it. To stop. To wait. To be patient,” he said “To reach out for help.”