Obama counsels gay youth: 'It gets better'

President Obama recorded a video aimed at gay and lesbian youth to discourage suicide and tell them, "It gets better."

The "It Gets Better Project," a new organization founded to discourage suicide among LGBT youth, released a new video featuring Obama, who called a recent spate of high-profile suicides heartbreaking.

"Like all of you, I was shocked and saddened by the deaths of several young people who were bullied and taunted for being gay, and who ultimately took their own lives," Obama said in the video. "As a parent of two daughters, it breaks my heart. It's something that just shouldn't happen in this country."

The president isn't the first administration official to record a video for the new project, which was founded after some recent, high-profile suicides by gay or lesbian youth who were bullied or outed by their peer groups. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recorded a video delivering a similar message earlier this week.

"I don't know what it's like to be picked on for being gay, but I do know what it's like to grow up feeling that sometimes you don't belong," Obama said in his video. "The other thing you need to know is things will get better. More than that, with time you're going to see that your differences are a source of pride, and a source of strength."