By Esta Pratt-Kielley, published by NBC News
The LGBTQ community is appearing in the national news a lot recently, and the topics range from terrifying to sad to downright confusing.
Last week, an assailant killed 49 people in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, injuring at least 53 more.
In recent months, a bill was passed in North Carolina, blocking local governments from passing anti-discrimination laws to grant protections to gay and transgender people. In addition, the bill requires all people using public restrooms to use the restroom of their biological sex.
As a parent, it can be hard to shield children from these pervasive messages. In a 2012 Human Rights Campaign (HRC) report, Growing Up LGBT in America, a survey of 10,000 LGBT-identified youth ages 13-17 found that 92% of LGBT youth said they hear negative messages about being LGBT. And 68% of LGBT youth said they hear negative messages about being LGBT from elected leaders.