Perez’s story is a sad and troubling one and one that is all too common. He grew up with the message that “if you were gay you were going to go to hell”, which traumatized him and forced him to keep a secret for a long time. In other words he had to suppress his own self! He was afraid to tell his parents and when he did he was “forced ” to go to “ex-gay ministries” . He was sad, super-depressed, didn’t feel loved for WHO HE WAS, isolated and cried every day. Being homeschooled he was separated from his friends and became heavily addicted to his computer. He received no guidance, support or affirmation and became an extremely vulnerable gay young man.
His story is a wake up call about all that is injurious to a person’s identity, creates psychological trauma, and then vulnerability to poor lifestyle choices. Spiritual, emotional, and psychological abuses need to be addressed to help prevent other young people from suffering like Perez did .
Perez needed to be affirmed and supported positively as a young gay boy . Our identity involves our sexuality. For a gay person to be threatened with going to hell for living out his/her identity which includes sexuality, in a God honouring way is wrong.
It may be worth watching a TED talk with Noah Mitchell called “Black, Gay and Christian: Creating Affirming Spaces” alongside Perez’ video to gain perspective and an “open atmosphere ” .