Leelah Alcorn’s best friend barred from her funeral

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The late Leelah Alcorn

It’s been revealed that the parents of Leelah Alcorn, the American trans teen who recently committed suicide, barred her best friend from attending her funeral.

Abby Jones, 17, says that she received a furious phone call from Alcorn’s conservative Christian parents, Carla and Doug Alcorn, before the ceremony, accusing her of sharing pictures of their daughter wearing a dress online.

“My daughter just wanted to say goodbye to her best friend. They did not allow her to go to the funeral,” Abby’s mother, Pieper-Jones, told the Daily Mail. She added that they “had no right to call and harass my daughter.”

While Alcorn’s family have insisted they loved her, they’ve refused to accept that she was a young transgender woman and have continued to refer to her as male.

In her suicide note, Alcorn outlined the ongoing refusal by her parents to support her identity and their attempts to “cure” her through Christian-based therapy.

The Alcorns were on the receiving end of widespread outrage and were blamed by many for their daughter’s death.

Gay activist and author Dan Savage called for their prosecution and tweeted: “#LeelahAlcorn’s parents threw her in front of that truck. They should be ashamed—but 1st they need to be shamed. Charges should be brought.”

The 17-year-old, born Joshua Ryan Alcorn, is believed to have walked into the path of a truck on a highway in the early morning of Sunday, 28 December.

Her December 2nd funeral was moved to a private location because the family had reportedly “received threats.”

On Sunday, Transparent producer Jill Soloway dedicated her show’s Golden Globe win to Alcorn, stating that there are “too many trans people who die too young.”

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