Police are blaming homophobia for the death of South Korean actor Kim Ji-hoo.

Songpa Police Station confirmed the 23-year-old hung himself at his home in Jamsil, southern Seoul, Monday.

Police said they found a suicide note at the scene, saying, "I'm lonely and in a difficult situation. Please cremate my body."

Kim's death is the latest in a series of suicides. Transsexual entertainer Jang Chae-won hung herself in the bathroom of her home on Friday, following the deaths of actor Ahn Jae-hwan and actress Choi Jin-sil.
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Police said his suicide reflects public prejudice toward gay people and their difficulty in succeeding in the entertainment industry.

Following the announcement of his sexual orientation, Kim's management agency did not renew his contract and many TV programs and fashion shows canceled his appearances. His blog was bombarded with numerous messages denouncing his sexual orientation.

Kim's mother also pointed to his personal and professional difficulties.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton took some time recently to answer voters' questions, including one about preventing gay suicide. We've posted the video after the jump. Gayness starts around 3:22 mark.

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Coming out can be painful. Unfortunately, countless young queers can't reconcile their innate identities with society's expectations and turn to suicide. Television writer J. Graigory was one of those people. Now he's sharing his story.

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A survey of 388 gays of various races shows that white and Latino queers have more mental issues than their more melanin-inclined counterparts:

According to a study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health among lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations, blacks and Latinos do not have more mental disorders than whites.

Based on the theory that stress related to prejudice would increase risk for mental disorders, researchers typically expect that black lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals face prejudice related to both racism and homophobia and therefore would have more disorders than their white counterparts.

Contrary to this expectation, however, the Mailman School study found that black lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals had significantly fewer disorders than white individuals. Latinos had a prevalence of disorders similar to whites.

The study, which will be published in next month's American Journal of Public Health, also indicates that black and Latino gays have a higher prevalence of suicide attempts, but those attempts occurred during their youth, rather than during adulthood.

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• Episcopal Church votes to "restrain" gay officiation, no official same-sex blessing.

• Senator Ted Kennedy comes out for ENDA hate crime legislation. Senate to vote Thursday.

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Calling homosexuality "a discovery, not a decision," Irish President Mary McAleese urged her country to ease up on the gays. Speaking at a Suicide Prevention conference, McAleese sent this message:

Ireland is making considerable progress in developing a culture of genuine equality, recognition and acceptance of gay men and women. But there is still an undercurrent of both bias and hostility which young gay people must find deeply hurtful and inhibiting."

Homosexuality is a discovery, not a decision, and for many it is a discovery which is made against a backdrop where, within their immediate circle of family and friends as well as the wider society, they have long encountered anti-gay attitudes which will do little to help them deal openly and healthily with their own sexuality.

McAleese also said that there needs to be more exploration into the links between sexuality and suicide. Young men make up 40% of Ireland's estimated 500 each year. What a waste of perfectly good lads.

The Centers for Disease Control recently unveiled their first gay-specific website. A center for all thing homo-health-related, the site's a virtual cornucopia of useful information and covers everything from HIV/AIDS to suicide.

We learned something just by looking at the main page - did you know June 27th's National HIV testing day? We didn't. But now we do and we'll definitely go get tested. And you should, too. You should also check out the CDC website. It's good for what ails you.

Either it's just the cold weather in British Columbia, or lesbian teens are not getting the kind of outreach they need in the province, according to a new study by the McCreary Centre Society that reveals a shocking 38% percent of lesbian teens have attempted suicide. Compare this to the 8.2% of straight girls and 8.8% of gay boys, and you have a visible problem.

We haven't seen similar data in the United States, but we doubt that the consistently progressive province of BC is the only place with these numbers. The director of the McCreary Centre, a nonprofit organization concerned with youth health issues, says that lesbians suffer because they are "not as readily identified for help," which we interpret to mean that all the queeny boys are grabbing the attention of advocacy organizations while the less in-your-face lesbians are getting the shaft.

Study: Lesbian Teens More Likely To Attempt Suicide [365 Gay]
McCreary Centre Society [Official Site]

Usually we send you to funny and snarky links and stories. But sometimes we see something so powerful that even we feel like getting serious. Kenneth Morrison is a spoken word artist who wrote the poem At 13. This movie features Mr. Morrison’s dedication to his friend Devon. Devon was an African America, gay, teenager. He also took his life at the age of 13. This is powerful stuff.

At 13 [Current Studio]