Clinton offers reassurance to gay youth in web posting

“I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.” | Photo: Humans of New York

WASHINGTON — Boosting her social media outreach to younger voters, Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking to offer reassurance to gay youths in a posting that is drawing wide online attention.

“Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing,” Clinton wrote Friday on the Facebook page for Humans of New York, a popular blog. “You will surprise yourself with what you’re capable of and the incredible things you go on to do. Find the people who love and believe in you — there will be lots of them.”

The Democratic presidential candidate made the comment below a picture of an unnamed boy on that Facebook page with a tearful expression and a captioned quote that reads, “I’m homosexual and I’m afraid about what my future will be and that people won’t like me.”

The Clinton campaign confirmed Sunday that the posting, which is signed with an “H,” came personally from her. The posting has since drawn more than 68,000 “likes” as of Sunday evening and her reaction was noted in various news reports.

Clinton has been seeking to embrace youth culture and gay rights activism, having put the issue of gay marriage near the forefront of her campaign.

The former secretary of state backed gay marriage in 2013 after she left the State Department. That followed President Barack Obama’s announcement during the 2012 presidential campaign that he supported gay marriage.