's summer days go something like this: Wake up. Sit in front of a Dell laptop and read dozens of e-mails. Give a virtual pep talk and a phone contact to a girl from Australia considering suicide. Provide a hotline number to a Valley teen unsure how to tell his parents he's gay. Fifteen-year-old Caleb Laieski 's summer days go something like this: Wake up. Sit in front of a Dell laptop and read dozens of e-mails. Give a virtual pep talk and a phone contact to a girl from Australia considering suicide. Provide a hotline number to a Valley teen unsure how to tell his parents he's gay.



Add to a list of politicians across the country who will soon receive information about discrimination against gays and lesbians. And, oh yeah, return yet another call from the media.



Laieski, of Surprise, isn't spending his summer hanging at the pool. The high-school student is a gay activist, working between classes and school breaks.



He co-founded a national anti-discrimination organization in 2008, when he was a middle-school student. It's now based out of his bedroom.



He has sent hundreds of e-mails full of statistics to legislators, local politicians and others, hoping to inspire policy changes favorable to the gay community. And he has dealt with what he dubbed harassment at Willow Canyon High School in Surprise.

"Everything I have gone through has inspired my activism," Laieski said.



Eager to raise awareness, he recently shared his experiences with reporters from MSNBC and other outlets interested in the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona's offer to represent him. Dysart officials should have tried to stop anti-gay slurs and abuse, Laieski said.



Dysart Unified School District officials said they can't comment on specific students but has policies to prevent harassment.



Dan Pochoda, legal director at the Arizona ACLU office, said he and Laieski hope to meet with the district to promote updates to school bullying policies and additional training for staff.



Laieski isn't waiting. He has been on the move since 2008. That year, he and a friend founded Gays and Lesbians United against Discrimination in reaction to votes barring gay marriage in Arizona, California and Florida.



Laieski, the group's executive director, now leads about 20 volunteers who hope to urge lawmakers to overturn policies and laws they believe discriminate against gays and lesbians. They also hope to build a homeless shelter.



Caleb Laieski said he will pursue non-profit status in coming weeks. said he will pursue non-profit status in coming weeks.





Source:

http://archive.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/07/13/20100713surprise-teen-gay-rights-advocate.html





