THE NEW GAY YOUTH REVOLUTION.

In looking at the state of gay and lesbians teens in 2001, it would be impossible to ignore the surge of high school violence and abuse that has culminated in shoot-outs on campuses from Columbine to Santana High. Tormenting already tormented teenagers with homophobic slurs (which were targeted at Charles Andrew Williams, allegedly responsible for the shooting at California's Santana High in March) is often part of the norm where adolescent cruelty is a life passage. As Kevin Jennings, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, wrote in a 1998 Advocate perspective, "The cycle of violence starts early--in the nursery rhymes kids learn to recite; in the classrooms, where students hear antigay comments 26 times a day on average and where teachers do nothing an astounding 97% of the time." Fortunately, many of the gay teens we talked to are finding their way through these stormy years. Some are even falling in love, breaking up, coming out, and teaching others how to make the world a better place for all teenagers. Here are their stories ...

George Loomis 19 YEARS OLD * FRESNO, CALIF.

A gay teen takes on a school district for failin...

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