A young man refuses to join his parents in a "Pray Away Gay" intervention and they attack him physically. Watch the heartbreaking video here and find out how you can help Daniel start a new life. 

20 year old Daniel Ashley Pierce came out to his parents almost an entire year ago but his parents refused to accept it. His parents tried to get him to participate in a "Pray Away Gay" type of intervention and he didn't want to. He decided to videotape the discussion with his parents, and ended up videotaping himself being attacked physically and emotionally by his family. His mother told him he had to move out of her house if he was going to be living this way, and he asked if he could live in the basement. From there, the conversation escalated and Daniel is physically attacked by his stepmother. The entire conversation is heartbreaking to hear, especially when you realize this is a father, grandmother and stepmother talking to a child that they raised. The family then took everything they gave Daniel away from him, including school textbooks, his bed, medical things and his car. Here is what Daniel put on his Facebook right after the encounter:

What a day.... i thought that waking up at 9:48 and being 15 mins late to work was going to be the biggest problem today. but i didn't know that my biggest problem was going to be getting disowned and kicked out of my home of almost twenty years. to add insult to injury my step mother punched me in the face repeatedly with my grandmother cheering her along. i am still in complete shock and disbelief. the video i posted a few hours ago will give you a small bit of what i went through. i am sure y'all can guess who is who. Thanks to Teri, Regina and my boyfriend david for coming to rescue me. and thanks to everyone else who is sending their support!

Since this video went viral, Daniel's boyfriend has set up a GoFundMe page to help Daniel start a new life. The page has now raised over 93,000 dollars and Daniel is planning on donating some of the money to other young people in his same situation, including the Lost-N-Found Youth in Atlanta, which has helped Daniel during this difficult time. If you would like to donate, please visit his GoFundMe page to donate money.

If you would like to see a followup interview with Daniel, watch his interview with the 11 Alive Atlanta television station.

I applaud this young man for the courage he had to post this video online and show everyone what can happen to some people who come out of the closet. I applaud him for his strength to live his life the way he chooses, and be there as a voice for those who aren't able to be heard.

 

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