Outbeat Now! – October 24, 2010

This month we celebrated the one-year anniversary of Outbeat Now! and Outbeat Youth.  It’s hard to believe we’ve been on the air for 12 months already.  This month Jeff Basham had scheduled for an interview about hate crimes and bullying in the schools Sonoma County District Attorney to be, Jill Ravitch.  Unfortunately, Ms. Ravitch declined to be interviewed at the last minute.  Instead, we talked about the string of recent LGBT teen suicides and introduced the “It Gets Better Campaign.”  Several elected officials, including City Council member Joel Burns of Texas and President Obama have shown great courage by speaking out and taking a stand against school bullying.  On Outbeat Youth, Greg Miraglia was joined by special guests Judy and Dennis Shepard who talked about their memories of their son Matthew who died 12 years ago this month after a vicious hate crime in Laramie Wyoming.  The Shepards talked about the importance of coming out and for parents to support their LGBT children.