the grandfather of seth walsh. mr. walsh. thank you for joining us.ghts are with your family in this time. >> caller: thank you. >> absolutely. first of all. tell me about your grandson. >> caller: well, he was a loving boy. always smiling. thoroughly enjoyed life, we thought. to give an example of the type of student he was, seth and a friend of his, an autistic boy at school two years ago that the school pretty much shunned. the other kids shunned. so seth and his little friend would go by and pick that student up every day and go things with him in school and have lunch and so on with him. and include him in the group. that's just the kind guy seth was. excuse me. he was always there for the other person. >> what did seth tell you or other family members was happening at school to him? >> caller: well, he knew he was being bullied at school. his mother, since seth has been in the fourth grade, has talked to the teachers and administrators. every year. he was pulled out of school twice due to bullying. most recently this year after two weeks, approx

in california, 13-year-old seth walsh hanged himself from a tree in his backyard, and 15-year-old billyilled himself in indiana, all reportedly over relentless teasing about their sexuality. according to a recent survey on gay bullying, nine out of 10 gay and lesbian student are bullied at school. those statistics, student at harvey milk high school in manhattan know all too well. this is one of the first high schools in the country, open primarily for gay, lesbian, and transgender students. >> i think people get scared and fearful, and not because they were born into that fear but because it was taught by society. >> reporter: tonight, prosecutors say they will investigate whether this was a bias crime. katie? >> couric: byron pitts. byron, thank you very much. we ask for your comment and questions on twitter and facebook today. jan crawford in washington is our chief legal correspondent. jan, what kind of laws against bullying are currently on the books? >> reporter: well, katie, there's no federal law, but 45 states do have laws, the strongest require things like anti-bullying classe

in california on friday, the funeral of another student who committed suicide. 13-year-old seth walsh. in the past month, at least five gay teenagers have taken their own lives. shocking deaths that have led to new calls for action, including this one from talk show host ellen degeneres. >> my heart is breaking for their families, for their friends and for our society that continues to let this happen. these kids needed us, and we have an obligation to change this. >> reporter: garrett widell was bullied the summer before he started high school after classmates learned he was gay. >> he got text messages like -- they were just horrible. like -- it was very depressing. >> reporter: garrett became so distraught he considered taking his own life. >> he called me one day at work and he said i'm in the garage. and i have a knife. and i don't like myself, and i don't like my life. there's no reason to go on. >> reporter: garrett got the help he needed through the trevor project, a national suicide prevention hot line for teenagers struggling with their sexuality. >> if you're feeling helple

seth walsh in southern california, billy lucas in indiana, and asher brown in texas. and dan savage posted a seven minute video entitled it gets better. >> however bad it is now, it gets better and it can get great and it can get awesome. your life can be amazing. but you have to tough this period of it out. >> reporter: but the gay strait alliance network has taken the message one step further launching the make it better project.org. >> i was coming to terms that i was gay. >> and i was made fun of every day. >> the site encourages the community to shoot and upload videos in hopes of turning victims into activists. >> we have lives and power right now. and we can use it to make it better right now. >> did you ever think about committing suicide? >> yes. >> reporter: at the lgbt community center at san those jose state, students say these videos would have helped when they were in high school. >> you can help that one person who might be thinking i'm going to end my life today. >> i'm happy is out there the more people that come to you is a -- that say it does get be

other teens were mocked for being gay or perceived to being gay took their own lives. 13-year-old seth walsh of california, and 15-year-old billy lucas of indiana both hanged themselves. and 13-year-old asher brown of texas killed himself with a gun. >> his life was intended because of intolerance and hate. >> life gets better. >> reporter: relationship columnist dan savage, who's gay, says getting past the hate is hard but not impossible. >> when a gay kid commits suicide, what he's saying he can't picture a future with any joy in it, a future worth toughing it out for. and i want gay kids to know that they can have a happy, fulfilled life, and experience joy. >> reporter: this week at rutgers, project civility was launched, an effort to improve interpersonal relationships. >> we're trying to create a campus where everywhere is safe. >> reporter: too late for tyler clemente. another precious young life gone. mike taibbi, nbc news, new brunswick, new jersey. >>> when our broadcast continues in a moment, "education nation." you know how teachers have been under attack lately, tonight we meet

seth walsh's family knew he was being bullied at school. the 13-year-old hanged himself from a tree in his back backyard near bakersfield this summer he was a unique, wonderful child. >> he'd been picked on for years because he was gay. his suicide is one of many making headlines in recent months. there is transgender teenagers making their own lives. >> i lost friends to lgbt youth. i lost them to suicide. >> we sat down with alex and aj at the billy defrank lesbian and gay center in san jose. they came out in high school. they say the bullying is relentless. >> if i was going to go to the bathroom, they'd follow me. >> i have been drag add cross the squad from the collar. >> i started getting bullying when i got a boyfriend. that is when i'd hear words like queer. >> not always from other teenagers. alex says during a day of protest even teachers aren't supportive. >> we were silenced and we had a couple teachers from the school coming up to students two, of them in particular and they're like, oh, my god. thank god you're silent for a da

classmates started teasing seth walsh in the fourth grade.where other students told him the world didn't need another queer and that he should, quote, go hang himself. on september 18th after being threatened by a group of older teens, he went home, threw a noose around a tree branch and he did just that. he hung himself in his backyard. his mother saw him, pulled him down, seth stayed on life support on nine days before dying a couple of weeks ago. he was 13 years old. teen bullying and suicide has reached an epidemic in our country, especially among gay and lesbian youth, those perceived to be gay or kids who are just different. in recent weeks, new jersey teen tyler clemente jumped off a bridge to his death after his roommate outed him on the internet. rhode island teen raymond chase hung himself in his dorm room and we learned just yesterday of oklahoma team zach harrington who killed himself after attending a city council meeting in norman, oklahoma, where speakers made disparaging anti-gay remarks. there is a conversation for the adults

and seth walsh. how about billy lucas and asher brown?e all teens who were gay, or thought to be gay, they were all harassed, tor meanted a tormented and bullied to the breaking point. these kids didn't think life would ever get better. now a gay city councilman in ft. worth, texas, has put his political life on the line to tell other kids it does. that was joel burns speakg from experience. you'll hear from him in a second. he used the city council as a forum to tell how bullies went after him as a teen. it left such an emotional scar -- let's listen to him quickly. >> i want to use my taime to tak about another issue that pulls at my heart. the parents of asher brown, who you can see above, complained to school officials outside of houston that their son was being bullied and harassed in school. the bullies called him faggot and queer. they shoved him and punched him. in spite of his parents' calls to city councounselors and the , the threats and tormenting continues. for years it continues. he went home, found his father's gun and shot

asher brown, seth walsh and 12 days ago, tyler clementi.all this week we're partnering with "people" magazine taking an in-depth look at bullying and what a lot of people don't realize, these days it's not just kids in schools. for kids who are bullied there's no escape. it's not happening just in schools but happening online and on cell phones and kids are dying because of it. students at rutgers university held a vigil for tyler clementi over the weekend. he was 18 years old, an incredibly talented music with great potential. he jumped off the george washington bridge after a webcam video of him kissing another man was streamed online. his roommate at rutgers and another student face criminal charges. tonight, randi kaye has more on how the whole tragedy unfolded. >> reporter: like many universities rutgers randomly assigns a roommate for each of its new freshman. so it was pure chance tyler clementi and dharun ravi came to share a room here at davidson hall. clementi, shy and modest. ravi, charming and loving attention, three weeks later

ç seth walsh, 13. hanged himself in california. asher brown, shot himself in texas.st week in oklahoma and the list will continue to grow as long as we don't change our attitude. as long as people continue to use religion. that's what an apostle in the mormon church said last week. as long as politicians continue to perpetuate the lives that young people are being brainwashed into being gay. that's what carl paladino said yesterday and continued to defend today. >> mr. cuomo took his daughters to a gay pride parade. is that normal? would you do it? >> i think that you can probably expose your children to a lot of different things and help them decide to make their own decisions. >> i don't think it's proper for them to watch a couple of grown men grind against each other. i don't think it's proper. it's disgusting. >> anyone running for public office who would insult people, he hopes the government does not get the public's vote. and the sad list that suicides will continue to grow as long as they continue to treat this as a right of passage. the obama administration

. >> seth walshes' family knew he was bullied at school but didn't know how bad it was.3-year-old hanged himself in his backyard near bakersfield this summer. >> he was a unique and wonderful child. >> he was picked on for years because he was gay. suicide is one of many of that made headlines across the country in recent months. lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers who took their own lives. >> i've lost friends to lgbpu's just like anybody else and lost them to suicide. >> we sat with alex, andre and a. j. at the lesbian gay bisexual and community sr. in san jose. they all came out in high school. they say the bullying is relentless. >> if i was going to the bathroom, they'd follow me and my group to see which one i was going in. >> i've been dragged across the quad by my collar. >> when i had a boyfriend. that's when i would hear words like faggot or queer. >> and it's not always from other teenagers. alex says that during a national day of protest for gay rights, even teachers weren't very supportive. >> and put duct tape on my mouth and like silence. feat

in california on friday, the funeral of another gay student who committed suicide. 13-year-old seth walsher: in the past month at least five gay teenage verse taken their own lives. shocking deaths that have led to new calls for action. including this one from talk show host ellen degeneres. >> my heart is breaking for their families, for their trends and for our society that continues to let this happen. these kids needed us, and we have an obligation to change this. >> reporter: garrett wiedel was bullied the summer before he started high school after classmates learned he was gay. >> got text messages like -- they were just horrible like -- it was very depressing. >> reporter: garrett became so distraught he considered taking his own life. >> he called me one day at work and he said i'm in the garage and i have a knife and i don't like myself and i don't like my life. there's no reason to go on. >> reporter: garrett got the help he needed through the trevor project, a national suicide prevention hotline for teenagers struggling with their sexually. >> if you're feeling helpless or hope

seth walsh in his california back yard, september 19th. the rutgers university freshman tyler clementi, 18, jumps off the george washington bridge september 22nd. asher brown, 13 years old, from houston, shot himself in the head on september 23rd. raymond chase, 19, hung himself in his dorm room in rhode island on september 29th. and on september 30th a 14-year-old indiana boy ended his life. kathy, you've been to iraq, even talked with gay soldiers who were bullied in the military -- >> yes. >> larry: let's take a look at that. >> are there certain people in your unit that you feel like would be the type of person that would tend to out you and you kind of stay away from them? >> mm-hmm. >> i'm more worried about the violence and possible gay bashing because there is so much just accepted hate because of like the whole policy. because i would become like really good friends with this one person and he wouldn't know that i was gay and when we were in our corps school just out of nowhere said "i think we should hang gay people out in front

texas to indiana to california where 500 people turned out friday night to remember 13-year-old seth walshhanged himself after classmates teased him about being gay. >> it is important to allow young people to come out and to find support and to realize that once you do come out, you're not alone. >> reporter: the deaths have provoked nationwide introspection about bullying and how gay teens are treated, introspection from the heartland to hollywood. openly gay singer lance bass admitted to mtv as a closeted teen, even he used to bully gay people. >> i can tell you right now when i was in high school in mississippi, i was one of the first ones to jump on the bandwagon to make fun of a gay person. >> celebrities lend that star power. it brings acceptance, it brings the issue right into the forefront, in many ways get this into the hearts and minds of the people who need to hear about it. >> reporter: just last month campus pride, a college gay rights group, released a national study on how gay students are treated in higher education and found they experience significantly greater harassmen

about a string of teens from around the country committing suicide because of bullying. 13-year-old seth walshn, 15-year-old billy lucas and now 18-year-old tyler clemente all took their own lives last month. the most recent rutgers college freshman, tyler clemente. >> now, there's word this morning that the college freshman may have known he was being spied on before a video of him involved in a sexual encounter spread across the internet. sarah simmons joins us with more on the latest on this string of senseless deaths. sarah? >> tony and allison, students at rutgers are still reeling over the death of tyler clemente. many are calling it cyberharassment. and another reports he may have been trying to get help. >> it is really scary. >> students who live in the same dorm as tyler clemente can't believe he may have known he was being recorded. the rutgers university freshman took his own life after police say he was recorded by a webcam in his room during a sexual encounter. now, gawker.com is reporting tyler complained about a spying roommate on a message board for gay men. saying "the fact t

classmates started teasing and name calling seth walsh in the fourth grade and it continued through theudents told him that the world didn't need another queer and he should go quote hang himself. on september 18th after being threatened by a group of older teens, he went home, and threw a noose around a tree branch, and he did just that. he hung himself in his backyard. his mother's -- his mother saw him, pulled him down, seth survived on life support for nine days before dieing a couple of weeks ago. he was 13 years old. in recent weeks new jersey teen tyler clementi jumped off of the bridge to his death after his roommate outed him on the internet. rhode island teen tyler chase hung himself in his dorm room and also we heard of a teen who killed himself after at the ending a city council meeting in norman, oklahoma, where speakers made disparaging anti-gay remarks, but tonight, i would like to talk to the 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17-year-olds at paskel in arlington heights or at dagget or rosemont school or any school in ft. worth or anywhere across the country for that matter. i know

youtube video shows seth walsh who died tuesday nine days after hanging himself from a tree. prosecutors have interviewed some of the teens who allegedly taunted seth for being gay. several broke down in tears. police say no charges will be filed. >>> and in michigan an assistant attorney general is taking leave from his job. he's gotten a lot of criticism for targetingen openly gay student at the university of michigan. andrew chervih ul used his blog criticize the student's radical homosexual agenda. he accuses chris armstrong of throwing parties to try and recruit liquored-up students into his lifestyle. officials say shirvil will face a disciplinary hearing after he returns to work. >>> so, my big question today -- are we likely to see more instances of gay bashing because this issue of gay rights is now front and center? it's getting a lot of attention. i'd like to hear your thoughts. you can reach me on twitter. get me on facebook. or shoot me an e-mail contessa@msnbc.com. >>> las vegas flips, the high lives of celebrities, but there's another side to vegas and it's crim

tyler clementi at rutgers university, 13-year-old seth walsh in southern california, 15-year-old billy in indiana, and 13-year-old asher brown in texas. as a result, columnist dan savage posted a 7 minute video entitled, it gets better. viewed more than 400,000 times. >> however bad it is now, it gets better. and it can get great and it can get awesome. your life can be amazing. but you have to tough to feared of it out. >> reporter: but san francisco's "gay/straight alliance" network has taken that step one step further launching makeitbetterproject.org. >> i constantly heard insults. >> i was made fun of almost every, single day. >> reporter: the site encourages the lgbt community to shoot and upload videos. >> we have power and can make it better now. >> reporter: did you ever think about committing suicide? >> yes. >> reporter: in san jose state, students say these videos would have helped when they were in high school. >> you can be helping that one person, you know, that one person who might be thinking i'm going to go jump off the bridge or i'm going to end my life today. that's

tyler clementi in new jersey, asher brown, seth walsh and billy lucas. the focus of a sermon at sunshine cathedral earlier this month. >> they weren't miserable because of who they were, they were miserable because of how people treated them for being who and what they were. such abuses make me angry. and i don't know what to do with my anger. >> and the minister in the clip is a senior pastor at sunshine cathedral. i know that your church, your congregation is holding a vigil tonight to recognize the lives lost and the danger to young people who may be gay. what can people do about it? what do you do to promote more understanding? >> well, that's part of what we are doing tonight is we are having the vigil to raise awareness, to get people involved, to get people to know that they have to speak up and speak out on behalf of these kinds of issues. we want to support anti-bullying initiatives. we want to create safe places in schools and families and churches for people to be who they are. and not have to live in fear of being found out or being or the me

. >> reporter: 13-year-old seth walsh died this week after years of bullying for being gay. say that's what led him to take his own life. his family says he wouldn't tell them who bullied him. he would rather feel pain than blame anyone. now the community and his family arpushing to chae minds and policies. >> they have to treat people like people, because everybody is still a human being. they just hve to treat them like people. >> i believe that people should come to an agreement as a community work on a no-bullying campaign. >> reporter: the walsh family is leading the effort to talk about how to stop relentless school bullying. in the meanti, two commities a continent apart dealing with the same grief over dead students who were different. aaron gilchrest, news4. >> and that's news4 at 5:00. "news4 at 6" starts now. >> you're watching nbc 4, washington's news leader. now live hd, this is "news4 at 6." >> parts of maryland still dealing with severe flooding. >> firefighters are investigating whether somebody started at deadly fire at an apartment in the district. >>> and

shall victims of anti-gay bullying like -year-old seth walsh, who hanged himself last month.ementi puts new focus on the alienation gay teenagers say they often feel. one recent survey found nearly 25% of gay college students report being the target of harassment and discrimination, while only 7% of u.s. schools offer support programs. >> if you're getting bullied and you're feeling like you're on the outskirts, it gets better. >> reporter: this weekend, mtv recorded messages of support from gay slooebts like neil patrick harris and lance bass. >> when i was in high school in mississippi i was on the first persons to jump on the bandwagon to bash a gay person and look how i turned out. i had a secret this whole time. >> reporter: while classmates mourn, the two acoups sdfd of harassing clementi could face up to five years in prison some. students think that is not enough. >> i don't know if any time is enough, to make up for what they've done. >> reporter: charges could be upped if prosecutors deem this a bias crime. at the same time, one new jersey lawmaker has proposed incr

seth walsh of california was 13 years old and hanged himself from a tree after years of that rasment.ullies targeted him because he was gay. >>> billy lucas of indiana was 15 when he took his life last month. and asher brown of texas was only 13 when he shot himself in the head. his parents say bullies picked on him because he was small, didn't wear designer clothes, and because they thought he was gay. well, these are just four cases. there are, no doubt, many others. a recent school survey found that nine out of ten lesbian, gay or transgender kids are harassed at school, and that gay students are four times more likely to attempt suicide. now celebrities are reaching out, offering support to kids who might not get it from their parents, friends or church. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> it gets better. >> there is hope, and there is help. >> people are here for you, people who care and understand. >> it may be the darkest time in the world for you, but you need to understand that there is hope. there is always hope, and there is always

. >> reporter: there was 13-year-old seth walsh, 13-year-old asher brown in texas, and tyler clementimented by their peers. >> to young people who might be holding the rope or the pill bottle -- >> burns can relate. he says he too contemplated suicide. it's not just the councilman affected by the headlines. >> i attempted to kill myself. >> a public service announcement from a reality tv star is now on the air. >> this needs to be a wakeup call to everyone. >> reporter: teen suicide is the talk of talk shows, but it was the texas councilman's story that seemed to connect with so many. >> to those who are feeling very alone tonight, please know that i am understand how you feel. but things will get easier. please stick around. to make those happy memories for yours. >> burns was given a standing ovation, but what he wants is to save young lives. f . >> joel burns, good morning. >> good morning. >> before i talk more about what you said, talk to me about getting to that point. talk to me about the decision to actually say, okay, it's time now to speak out publicly? >> given my own perso