Subscribe to Breaking News
Loading ...Classmates remember murdered Larry King
02.13.2009 12:13pm EST
Updated with a correction
(Oxnard, California) Tears flowed openly as dozens of students and Oxnard’s gay community held a vigil Thursday night to remember Larry King, the 15-year-old gay student who was gunned down by a classmate one year ago.
Fifteen year old Brandon McInerney has been charged as an adult with murder as a hate crime. At the time King was killed McInerney was 14.The vigil was organized by the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance.
In Congress on Thursday, Congresswoman Lois Capps (D-CA) introduced a resolution to honor the life of King.
“Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),” the resolution said, “That Congress honors the life and remembers and condemns the murder of Lawrence King; encourages efforts to address anti-lesbian, -gay, -bisexual and -transgender name-calling, bullying, harassment and discrimination on school campuses; encourages trainings to enable school staff to identify and address anti-lesbian, -gay, -bisexual and -transgender name-calling, bullying, harassment and discrimination effectively and in a timely manner; encourages the implementation of age-appropriate, inclusive curricula to help students understand and respect difference within the school community and society as a whole; encourages each State, city, and local education authority to adopt laws and policies to prohibit name-calling, bullying, harassment and discrimination against students, teachers and other school staff regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”
King, 15, often dressed in a feminine manner and told friends that he was gay. He was shot in the head during a morning class at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard in February 2008. More than 20 other students were in the room at the time. McInerney was arrested shortly after the shooting.
King died in the hospital after doctors declared him brain dead and his mother agreed to have life-support removed.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network urged school officials to ensure all students are safe.
“Our thoughts continue to go out to an Oxnard community that will never be the same after this senseless display of hate,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. “Lawrence King was murdered simply for being himself. It is imperative that as a nation we do everything we can to make sure that the tragedy of Feb. 12, 2008 never happens again and that every student is safe, respected and valued in school.”
A 2007 GLSEN study found that bullying and harassment of LGBT students is the norm rather than the exception in schools.
Nearly nine out of 10 LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 44 percent being physically harassed and 22 percent being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation. The study involved 6,209 middle and high school students.
Additionally, three-fifths of LGBT students felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and about a third skipped a day of school in the past month because of feeling unsafe.
“While no one can deny that a serious problem exists in our schools, what is most troubling is that so few seem committed to doing anything about it,” Byard said. “The good news is that schools can take simple, proven steps right now to make their students safer. Every child deserves that much.”
Since his arrest, McInerney’s attorneys have been fighting to have the case heard in juvenile court. Earlier this week the prosecution disclosed new information to back up its contention McInerney should be tried as an adult.
The prosecutor’s office in a brief filed with the appeals court said McInerney has a “racist skinhead philosophy.” The brief said that McInerney sat behind the 15 year old King in class last February 12, and without saying anything shot King in the back. When King fell to the floor McInerney got up and fired a “second, coup de grace” shot into the back of King’s head.
King and the dozens of others killed in the election period are victims of the right centrists campaign by to whip up homophobic hysteria around same sex marriage.
Without question the denial of rights is the same as denying that we’re fully human and that we deserve the same rights as others.
The codefendants in this case should include Pelosi and Reid who dropped the hate crimes bill to pander to bigots, cults like the mormons, Warren’s southern baptists and the roman catholic cult and McCain and Obama who deliberately helped defeat us in California. McCain honestly said he was bigot. Obama, dishonestly, given his previous record or support said that not only was he now a bigot but that the sky pixie was too’, i.e. “god’s in the mix”.
These deaths cannot just be forgotten. They’ll take on real meaning in our lives if we organize a series of mass marches in DC and across the country to demand passage of the hate crimes act, the version of ENDA before it was raped by Barney and the Republicans and the repeal of the Democrat/Republican bipartisan right centrist laws DOMA and DADT.
Rest in peace Letitia/Lawrence.
As a proud gay man I am horified by this murder and hate crime but there are two vitums here Larry King and the youg man that killed him, to be taught since childhood to hate gay people or any one different is a hate crime in it self neather one hade a chance and to put this young man behind bars for the rest of his life is wrong Im not saying he should not be punished but one so young has a chance to redeeme himself. There are more young people out there that are titering on the same path but untill we stop the cause of the hate there will be more Larry Kings and the young people that will be put in prison for that crime will be butilized and to butilize a child is a hate crime there are far to many childern in prison now and to think of what they are going through is beyoud human reasoning. to protect the young gay and lesbian students all young people have to be taught we are not that different but untill we stop the people that are esposing this hate the crimes will continue.
Another King falls to a bullet of hate.
The fact that this happened in California last year is not surprising. Those who lived through the campaign against us know who is responsible for the death and other gay bashing incidents. The churches have dehumanized our community to the public at large. We are not seen as human beings to the majority of people in this state. Why would we be? The churches and the president see us as unworthy of any equality. That is the sorry state of California and the US in 2009. I am ashamed to be part of either.
The way for Congress to “honor” the victims is to stop the foot dragging and send hate crimes legislation to President Obama’s desk. And by “Congress,” I mean the SENATE of course. The House of Representatives has already passed this legislation several times. It is time for the GOP obstructionists in the Senate to get with the program.
It is some small justice that the DA in Ventura County takes his duties seriously with regards to the King case. However, too often, local law enforcement offcials treat gay lives as worthless. As with that awful case in South Carolina, where a thug killed a gay man and basically got away with it (four years under involuntary manslaughter). We need to empower the FBI and the federal courts to take over the investigation / prosecution of such cases.
my condolences goes out to the king family but that just the tip of the iceberg if we fail to educate our children on how to repect others gender this is the job of the parents where was that boys parents if he is able to take a gun to school instead of abag of lunch this should serve as a wake up call to all parents because if a child can bring a gun into school your child could be the next no child is safe that why parents should be held accountable for thier child actions when they are that young and hate is on thier minds they need help racism is learned and it starts at home
see, this is why we need sexuality, as well as sex education, students need to be taught the truth of homosexuality, by people who know the truth, religious people distort the truth, and we need to combat this to show that being gay, bi, lesbian, transgender, is a natural part of life.