This is an important reminder! Outing people is dangerous and ultimately mean spirited. I think it's probably worth noting that at least in the U.S., outing a teenager today is even more potentially damaging than it was 15 years ago, given the intensity of the anti-LGBTQ backlash.

Adult staff and student peers are much more likely to bully and belittle than they were then, according to reams of data by groups like Trevor Project and GLSEN.

The Catholic school world is far worse too, depending of course on the school. Some Catholic schools are positive, healthy outliers, particularly schools run by the Jesuit order, but diocesan schools today are much more likely to punish students for being queer.

Most U.S. bishops intensely oppose Pope Francis's tentative and incomplete rapprochement with queer people, and many Catholic school systems are going after queer staff and students with a fervor that LGBTQ advocates describe as a witch hunt.

Obviously, depending on where you live, public schools can be as bad or worse, with schools in red states often being very dangerous for queer students. (Note Nex Benedict's bullying death at the beginning of this month in Oklahoma.)

I'm glad you wrote this story to remind people that outing can have very serious consequences!