U.S. Rep. Don Young has apologized after telling students at a high school where a child recently committed suicide that people kill themselves when there's a lack of support from family and friends.
Wasilla High School Principal Amy Spargo says students and adults at the assembly took offense because it was as if they were being blamed.
She says after that, the event became more confrontational.
Spargo says she went for the microphone when a response by Young to gay marriage, which he opposes, seemed to rile students further.
Young, the longest serving Republican in the House, has a history of colorful, sometimes offensive, quips, and has made headlines recently more for gaffes than policy.
His office told the Alaska Dispatch News that the congressman should have been more sensitive.
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