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Of all the magazines you might think would cover LGBT issues, Ladies’ Home Journal is probably not high on your list. This month, however, the magazine — one of the ten largest in America — has published a major article on anti-gay bullying, "Gay Teens Bulliedto the Point of Suicide”

Anti-gay bullying is a hot topic right now, and no surprise that many media outlets are jumping on the bandwagon. The venerable LHJ, launched in 1883, however, tries to appeal to middle-class family women across a wide range of beliefs and political persuasions. The sub-header to the article hints at this, asking, “It's a shocking trend. Isn't it time for all of us to encourage compassion and respect, no matter how we feel about homosexuality?”

Author Kenneth Miller has done a splendid job of gearing the piece to the audience. He leaves aside discussion of any moral questions about being gay. Instead, he focuses on the damage that anti-gay bullying does to gay youth and those perceived to be so. He cites a variety of experts who explain why all parents, not just those with gay children, should be concerned about anti-gay bullying. They include the director of the public school anti-violence program in Akron, Ohio, the principal of a high school in Omaha, Nebraska; and a Catholic priest in Bloomington, Minnesota — hardly liberal bastions.

Most strikingly, for those used to coverage of anti-LGBT bullying in more mainstream and liberal publication, he even cites Warren Throckmorton, an evangelical Christian and associate professor of psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania, who has encouraged counseling people to overcome same-sex attractions. At the same time, Throckmorton doesn’t advocate the extreme views of other evangelical leaders such as Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council, who wants to confront gay youth directly with the message that being gay is a sin. Throckmorton instead has developed the “Golden Rule Pledge” program to help conservative churches stop such bullying, and encourages people to focus on treating others the way they want to be treated.

The most compelling academic research Miller brings to bear is from clinical social worker Caitlin Ryan, head of the Family Acceptance Project at San Francisco State University. Ryan has shown that the more supportive the parents are, the better the kids do. The more they reject their child for being LGBT, the more likely the child will suffer from depression, take drugs, or attempt suicide. Acceptance, Ryan says, “doesn’t necessarily mean changing your deeply held beliefs. It means finding a way to balance those beliefs with the love you have for your child.”

Amen and pass the cranberry sauce. Ryan’s message is one that should resonate even with more conservative readers. Taken as a whole, Miller’s article is a stellar example of how to target a message to a broad audience and find a common point of contact — children’s safety — without getting caught up in the ideological issues that often hinder such communication. LGBT advocates and journalists everywhere — including those working to combat anti-equality legislation — should take careful note.

Regardless of Miller's balance, however, one may assume that some readers and advertisers will still be offended that LHJ has published a piece that shows support for gay youth. Please take a moment to sign the petition below and thank LHJ for tackling the topic.