99:, aged 20. Bobby realised he was gay in high school, and felt substantial shame over this. Writing in his diary, Bobby said: "I can't ever let anyone find out that Iām not straight. It would be so humiliating. My friends would hate me. They might even want to beat me up. And my family? I've overheard them. They've said they hate gays, and even God hates gays, too. Gays are bad, and God sends bad boys to hell. It really scares me when they are talking about me."
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two months before his graduation. In 1983 Bobby moved to
Portland with his boyfriend. Following a trip back to Walnut Creek, which Mary described Bobby as having "given up," he returned to Portland and threw himself off an over-pass, dying when his body made contact with the highway and an 18-wheel
207:. Later she largely abandoned her fundamentalist perspective. Describing her religious beliefs in 2009, she said that "It's humiliating just to go through the Bible and see the fairy tales I believed, like that business about mixing fabrics." Griffith died in 2020, aged 85.
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Following Bobby's suicide, Griffith reconsidered her opposition to homosexuality, and no longer believed that gay people would go to Hell. Griffith became involved with
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Presbyterian Church, and would put bible verses around the house in an attempt to stop sinning. Bobby attempted suicide by overdosing on aspirin, and dropped out of
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Robert 'Bobby' Warren
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due to her religious intolerance. Following his suicide, Griffith became a longstanding LGBT rights activist.
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family, and after a minor incident with the police when she was a teenager, she became a
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and asking religious conservatives to reconsider their position on homosexuality.
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Prayers for Bobby: A Mother's Coming to Terms with the
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537:"12 Years Later: Sigourney Weaver Reflects on 'Prayers for Bobby'"
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A scholarship was set up in Bobby's name in 1990, administered by
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423:"Mary Griffith, Who Lost Her Gay Son to Suicide, Has Died"
393:"Mary Griffith, Champion of LGBTQ rights, has passed away"
453:"Congress' Lesson on Values: There's No Middle Ground"
79:(October 13, 1934 ā February 7, 2020) was an American
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Griffith's story was adapted into a book written by
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137:On December 6, 1995, Griffith testified before the
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225:"LGBTQ Rights Crusader Mary Griffith Dies at 85"
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261:"The Death and Legacy of Bobby Griffith"
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570:"Mary Griffith: Everyday Hero"
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352:"ACCEPTING A GAY SON TOO LATE"
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181:In 2009, a film, titled
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541:Philadelphia Gay News
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231:. February 12, 2020.
112:Las Lomas High School
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481:. October 11, 2019.
459:. December 7, 1995.
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104:coming out
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