On Tuesday afternoon, 17-year old high school student Riley Moscatel ended his life in Bucks County. The rising senior at Bucks County Technical High School placed himself in front of an Amtrak train heading for New York City at approximately 1:30pm this afternoon.

Riley’s mother, Kristine Moscatel, said in the Bucks County Courier Times that “things were just building up and building up and she just couldn’t take it anymore. She hid behind her mask. She had a mask for me, my husband, my son, my parents…everyone she had a different face for, but they were all happy (faces).” Riley was referred to as a “rising star” in the commercial and advertising arts program at Bucks County Technical High School by school officials in the article.

Both the LevittownNow and Bucks County Courier Times misgendered Riley in their reports. LevittownNow updated their online post to reflect his correct pronouns. The current headline by the Bucks County Courier Times and the Intelligencer is “Mom ‘heartbroken’ over daughter’s suicide by train.“

No one is alone in experiencing depression, anxiety, or distress. If you or any LGBT youth you know ever need someone to talk with, we encourage you to call the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.

(Contributed by Kristine Moscatel/Bucks County Courier Times)

In Pennsylvania, there are no school district or state policies which specifically affirm transgender students. PSEC is currently working to advance local and state policies to provide comprehensive support for transgender students in public schools.

Riley’s friends and family will release balloons at the Croydon Train Station in his memory this coming Sunday afternoon.

On Monday evening, the Bloomsburg Town Council addressed the local movement urging them to adopt a non-discrimination ordinance to protect LGBT people from discrimination in public accommodations, housing, and employment. Last week, national outrage was sparked when WW Bridal denied service to an engaged lesbian couple in the town.

The Town Council chamber was packed to capacity this evening, with nearly 30 additional people forced to crowd in the doorways and into the hallways because of fire code regulations. We could not tell if the crowd was mostly against, for, or split on supporting non-discrimination. In total, over 70 residents were in attendance for the meeting, most of whom came specifically for the discussion on non-discrimination.

Dwayne Heisler, a resident of the town, was the only registered speaker during the citizen’s comment period to address this issue. Mayor Sandy Davis and Councilmembers Diane Levan and Eric Bower spoke strongly in support of such a local law. All three members of Town Council are Democrats won their elections running as both Republicans and Democrats.

Mayor Davis concluded her brief and prepared remarks by stating that,

“We live in a world, and in a country, where we try to treat everyone equally and fairly. This is a discussion we need to have. There is a process. We will pass this on to the Community and Economic Development Committee in order to explore our various options to make sure all sides of this issue are equally and fairly recognized.”

Councilmember Bower followed by sharing, “I think it’s important we band together against discrimination of any kind, whether it is based on sexual orientation, or race, or any other protected class.“

They did not provide a full timetable other than Councilmember Levan agreeing to place a draft ordinance on the agenda for the next meeting of the Community and Economic Development Committee. The ordinance could come before the Town Council for a first reading as soon as late September.

The GSA of Bloomsburg University’s PSEC Delegate, Kyle Boyes, was in attendance tonight with PSEC Executive Director Jason Landau Goodman. Kyle was unable to speak during the open comment period because of a stringent rule which requires citizens to register the week before the meeting – which was as the situation was unfolding. Kyle shared with the Keystone Student Voice that, “I have high hopes that the ordinance will be passed. We plan to work with the Town government on this issue and make sure that they see support on this from the student and youth communities in Bloomsburg.”

Earlier on Monday, the Bloomsburg University GSA and PSEC sent a joint letter to all the Town Council members to ask for their serious consideration of adopting an LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance. The organizations offered any resources and support they may need through the process of banning anti-LGBT discrimination in Town policy. Several PSEC leaders have been helping lead local non-discrimination ordinance work in their home communities since 2009, before the coalition formed.

When Bloomsburg University resumes for the fall semester, it will be in time for the next meeting when the ordinance will be brought up. GSA leaders will certainly be in attendance to directly voice their support as young members of the Bloomsburg community.

Bloomsburg is the only Town in Pennsylvania, and operates similar to a borough government. In total, there are 2,562 municipalities in Pennsylvania which are either cities, boroughs, or townships, or a town. 33 municipalities in the state have adopted a local non-discrimination ordinance inclusive of gender identity and sexual orientation. The Keystone State has the most number of individually adopted LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinances without a statewide law banning LGBT discrimination.

Another year, another Matthew Shepard article

The murder of Matthew Shepard was 14 years ago yesterday. In 1998 I was eight years old, probably had a vague idea that there was such a thing as being “gay”, and would not learn about Matthew Shepard for years to come. I would not have known that he was raped three years prior to his murder, contributing to drugs and depressions in his college years. I would not known that he was robbed, tortured, assaulted severely, and tied to a fence to die by two people who had said they would give him a ride home. I would not have known about the Westboro Baptist Church; that they held signs at his funeral saying “Fag Matt in Hell.”

The controversy of the ensuing trial has been well documented: the defendants’ attempt at a “gay panic defense” [claiming to have been made psychotic by the offensiveness of a gay sexual advance]; inability to prosecute as a hate-crime. Ultimately, McKinney and Henderson both received life-sentences, which seems fair to me. And yet discussion of Matthew Shepard continues.

Yesterday evening a close friend shared with me a powerfully emotional spoken-word poem, “Eleven Years” by Sierra DeMulder (written last year). It is highly worth a listen for anyone who enjoys spoken word. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5RbcdO38pk) DeMulder vividly describes how Shepard was found tied to a post, mistaken for a scarecrow, and makes an emotional connection with her family.

Would there be any difference from 1998 Wyoming to 2012 Pennsylvania? In a sense, Matthew Shepard’s case has had an impact here, as area universities have staged productions of The Laramie Project and his case has been written about in a myriad articles like this one. What hasn’t changed is that people are still dying for being LGBTQ. Let’s hope that there will never be another case quite as gruesome as Matthew Shepard’s. Let’s also not forget about the bullying and harassment that had lead Pennsylvanians to take their owns lives. And once we combat bullying, let’s not stop until we have combated homelessness and inaccessible healthcare and all of the other barriers to safe and meaningful lives for the everyone in the LGBTQ community.

Ben Safran is a senior at Haverford College in Delaware County, PA. He can be reached at bsafran@haverford.edu.