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Alaska Aces: Make an "It Gets Better" video
  1. Signatures
    102 out of 200
    Petitioning
    1. Alaska Aces Owner (+ 6 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Alaska Aces Owner (Rod Udd)
      • Managing Member (Terry Parks)
      • Alaska Aces Owner (Al Haynes)
      • Alaska Aces Owner (Steve Adams)
      • Head Coach (Brent Thompson)
      • Alaska Aces Owner (Dan Coffey)
      • Alaska Aces Owner (Jerry Mackie)
  2. Created By
    Michael Swanson
    Anchorage, AK
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Sean Chapin petitioned the San Francisco Giants to make an "It Gets Better" video to fight the harassment, abuse, and bullying of LGBT teens. So far, no hockey team, NHL, WCHL, ECHL, or other renowned hockey teams have produced a video to tell gay, bisexual, lesbian, and transgendered students that "It Gets Better."

Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers, was fined $100,000 for calling "Benny" a "f***ing faggot*. Another NBA player, for a different team, was also fined for using the slur.

We get it. Sports can get people riled up to say things they never meant to say in the first place. Once the damage is done, you can never take it back. Think before you speak.

Teenagers look up to sports players as their role models. They don't need their role models to tell them "It's OK to call someone a faggot whether they are gay or not." In childhood, our parents taught us that "If you can't say anything nice. Don't say anything at all." Too bad the future of tomorrow is being influenced otherwise.

People don't deserve to be called things based on religion, ethnic background, sexual orientation, body appearance, etc. It's time to make a change for the better, as well as the future.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Homophobic Harassment: A leading cause in teen suicide.

Greetings,

I am here to ask that you, the Alaska Aces, create and produce an "It Gets Better" video for the It Gets Better Project.

Growing up in life is never easy for a teenager. It becomes even harder, if a teen is exposed, or perceived to be gay, bisexual, transgender, or lesbian. People hide behind fake veils of who they are, instead of who they should be, because they are afraid of what is going to happen to them if people knew who they really were, and how they were born.

Justin Aaberg. Billy Lucas. Cody Barker. Asher Brown. Seth Walsh. Raymond Chase. Tyler Clementi. What do all of these boys have in common? They all took their own life. They took their own life because of the homophobic comments and slurs that they have received from their peers. The future of tomorrow shouldn't be taught that bullying someone because they aren't like you is an OK thing to do. It never was, and it never will be.

As an open gay teen, I have struggled with my social life getting through school because people talked behind my back. They made fun of me, they taunted me. I knew I never deserved it. I knew that they were being shallow.

Especially in a Republican State such as Alaska, homophobia rages on. For someone to be told that "It Gets Better" and that someone is always there for them when they need it, is something that a bullied gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered teenager could ever ask you.

So I ask you to help stand with the victims of homophobia, and fight for our right to have a worry-free school and cyber environment.

The It Gets Better Project can be found at http://www.itgetsbetter.org/

Please Alaska Aces, I ask that you stand against homophobia for the major welfare of the future adults of America.

Regards,
Michael Swanson

[Your name]

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