A 12-year-old from Las Vegas has written a heartwarming essay about LGBT+ rights for a class assignment.
Evan Gant was told he could write about any topic, as long as it was “debatable”.
His sister Juliana shared the essay on Twitter, saying “My 12 year old brother wrote this about me in his 6th grade English class. I am in tears.”
Evan wrote: “Have you ever thought about gay rights? Gay rights are important, because they are like every other person in the world. It doesn’t matter if you like the same gender, as long as you are still you.
“It doesn’t matter about what people say, it’s about what you think and say. I know someone that I care for so much and they are gay. I still think of her as a friend, someone that cares for me.”
“My sister is still a normal person, not some alien creature. She is a human being just like all of us. I still get mad at her sometimes, but that doesn’t change the way I think of her. I love my sister how she is.
“I could care less if she is gay or straight. I only care that she is my sister and I love her for who she is. Just because they like the same gender doesn’t all the sudden make them different. I love my sister for who she is.”
The post has since gone viral, with Twitter users praising the tween’s maturity.
“Your brother has a better mindset than half the United States maybe more,” wrote @aliantethuggin.
“Can we all just acknowledge the beauty in this child's mind,” said @rytommi1.
Juliana told BuzzFeed that the essay took her by surprise.
“It was extremely heartwarming because he has never actually talked about it with me or told me what he thinks about it or how he feels about it.”
