Snuffed.

Seth Walsh was 13. He was incessantly taunted by his peers for being perceived as gay. He went to his backyard. He hung himself from a tree. Yet the rope didn't snap his neck. Instead, the noose strangled him. But slowly. His lips turned blue. His body produced one last adrenaline rush. So he involuntarily struggled against the noose. His legs twisted wildly. He gasped. Often in these cases fear and reflex causes them to vomit. Eventually he went limp. His body was tortuously deprived of oxygen. He slipped into a coma. Nine days later, he died. During the police interrogation, his tormentors broke down in tears. They said they wished they had stopped.

Walsh's family does not wish to place blame, but rather focus on promoting tolerance and understanding. As a grieving family, they have every right to react in the way that best gives them some solace. However, there is much blame to be cast, and frankly those responsible more than deserve to be exposed.

Here are the people who are responsible for Walsh's death and thousands of other LGBT youth:

1) The monster who promotes and maintains a culture of homophobia. This person wishes that gays would deny who they are and not assert their civil rights. He or she fights them in the public arena with the ultimate goal of re-closeting. He or she calls them faggots. Sometimes he or she is more clever and uses phrases such as 'disordered,' 'sinful,' 'unnatural' and 'perverted.' He or she is religious, but dirties the concept of god through such intolerance.

2) The bigoted peer who uses the word 'gay' as an insult and teases the gay or perceived to be gay kid. It is true that this person is a child and does not fully understand the potential consequences of she or her actions. However, it is the careless taunting and bullying without regard to the consequences that is the problem with this person. Thoughtlessly throwing around words or actions have real consequences.

3) This bigot can be the straight parent who just doesn't care enough, or the straight friend who refuses to take that critical jump to acceptance. While not exactly as bad as bigot of #2 or the monster of #1, this person is clearly uncomfortable with gays and lesbians and shows it. Sometimes the things left unsaid can be most hurtful to an LGBT teenager.

4) The people who side with neither tolerance nor intolerance. They do not actively join the taunting, but they allow the bullying to continue unchallenged. These individuals are only slightly less contemptible than the previous type.

5) The Gay individual who does not try to make life easier for his or her kind. This person does not vote and does not call elected officials. He or she does not attend civil rights events. This person in fact does not contribute to the struggle for justice in any way either physically or financially. He or she does want the cycle of homophobia to be broken across the country, yet does nothing to contribute. This person should know better.

There is plenty of blame to go around. When a LGBT youth kills him or herself due to homophobia is a domestic travesty of the highest magnitude.

The Trevor Project is the best outreach organization for this topic, but unfortunately, it is still not enough. If there was greater cooperation between individuals in Tehachapi, California, to stamp out bullying and provide genuine mentors, perhaps Seth Walsh would be alive today.