Mary Griffith

Mary Griffith (October 13, 1934 – February 7, 2020) was an American LGBT rights activist whose son, Bobby, died by suicide due to her religious intolerance. Following his suicide, Griffith became a longstanding LGBT rights activist. Bobby Griffith Robert 'Bobby' Warren Griffith (1963–1983) was Mary Griffith's son. Bobby died when he threw himself off a bridge in Portland, Oregon, 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 I’m 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." After his coming out, Mary sent him to counselling at the Walnut Creek 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 Las Lomas High School 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 truck. A scholarship was set up in Bobby's name in 1990, administered by GLSEN, and closed in 2020.