FINALLY!

It's been six weeks since 15 year old Lawrence King was murdered in his 8th grade classroom in Oxnard, California and the media seems to finally be getting a CLUE that there is some merit to the story of this boy's brutal murder.

TODAY, March 28, the AP Wire Service writes...

Gay California student’s slaying sparks outcry

Activists demand that middle schools do more to teach tolerance

Gee... do ya think it's about time?
It's a good article and I must say that I am very glad to see it even if it took this long to make mainstream media. Please read it. dg

The Associated Press

updated 4:06 p.m. ET, Fri., March. 28, 2008

OXNARD, Calif. - Larry King was a gay eighth-grader who used to come to school in makeup, high heels and earrings. And when the other boys made fun of him, he would boldly tease them right back by flirting with them.

That may have been what got him killed.

On Feb. 12, another student, Brandon McInerney, 14, shot him twice in the head at the back of the computer lab at their junior high school, police say.

The slaying of the 15-year-old boy has alarmed gay rights activists and led to demands that middle schools do more to educate youngsters about discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Police would not discuss McInerney's motive. But the day before the shooting, King told McInerney he liked him, eighth-grader Eduardo Segure told the Ventura County Star.

If King had flirted with the other boy, "that can be very threatening to someone's ego and their sense of identity," said Jaana Juvonen, a psychology professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Hate-crime allegation
McInerney was jailed on $770,000 bail on an adult murder charge that could put him behind bars for life. Prosecutors also filed a hate-crime enhancement, which could bring three more years if McInerney is found to have acted on the basis of the victim's race, religion, nationality or sexual orientation.

The shooting has galvanized Oxnard, a city of nearly 200,000 people about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Several vigils for King have been held, including a march that drew about 1,000 people to this strawberry-growing section of Ventura County.

Like the killings of some other gay students — such as Matthew Shepard in Wyoming and Brandon Teena, the Nebraska transsexual whose story was the subject of the movie "Boys Don't Cry" — King's death has drawn national attention and outraged many gays.

Comic Ellen DeGeneres, who is a lesbian, said on her talk show Feb. 28: "Larry was not a second-class citizen. I'm not a second-class citizen. It is OK if you are gay."

'He wasn't afraid'
Students at E.O. Green Junior High said the other kids used to taunt King, call him names and throw wet paper towels at him in the boys' restroom, and he would bravely fire back by flirting with them and chasing them.

"He didn't like people insulting him," said his friend Miriam Lopez, 13. "Larry was brave enough to bring high heels and makeup to school and he wasn't afraid of anything."

Jerry Dannenberg, superintendent of the Hueneme School District, would not discuss details of what went on between King and McInerney but said students are encouraged to come forward if they have been threatened.

He also said that King was free to wear women's accessories with his uniform of white shirt and dark pants because the dress code prohibits only those items that could be a safety threat, such as steel-toed shoes.

"If girls are wearing jewelry, you can't stop boys from wearing it, too," he said. "Each gender has the right to wear what the other does."

The school system said that it has tolerance programs in its middle schools, but that sexual orientation is often not dealt with until high school. Since the killing, school officials have been meeting with gay leaders about changing the program.

"With young people coming out at younger ages, our schools — especially our junior highs and middle schools — need to be proactive about teaching respect for diversity based on sexual orientation and gender identity," said Carolyn Laub, executive director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network. "The tragic death of Larry King is a wake-up call for our schools to better protect students from harassment at school."

Abuse and harassment
A 2005 survey by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network found that more than 64 percent of gay and lesbian students report verbal, sexual or physical harassment at school, and 29 percent said they missed at least a day of school in the previous month out of fear for their safety. The group is holding its annual "Day of Silence" in memory of King on April 25.

The families of both boys have refused to comment. An e-mail message left for McInerney's attorney was not immediately returned.

Both teens have been described as good kids.

King and his mother crocheted hundreds of scarves that were shipped to U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. The avid singer planned to belt out the national anthem at his brother's opening-day baseball game this spring.

"He had an amazing voice and was always singing," said Averi Laskey, 13, a friend since elementary school. "He would stick up for you no matter what. Larry was the best kind of person you could meet."

McInerney was described as the typical eighth-grader, goofy and fun to be around. He trained to be a lifeguard and took martial arts. He also enrolled in the Young Marines, a group similar to the Army's Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

Rough upbringings
The two had at least one thing in common: rough upbringings.

King had been in foster care at a center for abused and neglected children since November, said Steve Elson, the facility's chief executive. Confidentiality laws prevented him from saying why.

McInerney's parents accused each other of domestic violence and filed dueling restraining orders, according to court records. Several months before McInerney was born, his father was accused of shooting his mother in the elbow. Kendra McInerney told a local paper she struggled with drug addiction for many years. The couple divorced in 2002.

Jay Smith, director of the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, a gay rights organization, questioned whether teachers have enough training to deal with gay teens.

"Those of us being out remember being bullied and we don't want to see that happen to another kid," he said.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. (believing this fits none of these categories... dg)

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23847511/

LOGO PSA

Mar 10, 2008

GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, is honored to partner with Logo on a new public service announcement campaign denouncing hate in the wake of junior high student Lawrence King’s murder.

I am writing to Logo to learn how we may rebroadcast this one minute PSA at our schools. I will keep you posted on what I learn.

Logo PSA

dg

from the mouths of babes...

The following is a letter from a young man in Oklahoma in response to Representative Kern's speech.
dg

============================

A letter to Sally Kern from a senior in high school in Oklahoma.
*******
Today my nephew attempted to deliver a letter to Sally Kern but was stopped by a highway patrol man. With his permission I am distributing the letter to all news stations and thought I would include it here.
Maybe we can all stand to learn a listen from this smart, loving, young man. He more than most has reason to hate. He lost his mother, my sister, in the Murrah Building bombing.
Elizabeth ( by way News9 Comment Section at http://www.topix.net/forum/sou...

Letter From Tucker
Rep Kern:
On April 19, 1995, in Oklahoma City a terrorist detonated a bomb that killed my mother and 167 others. 19 children died that day. Had I not had the chicken pox that day, the body count would've likely included one more. Over 800 other Oklahomans were injured that day and many of those still suffer through their permanent wounds.
That terrorist was neither a homosexual or was he involved in Islam. He was an extremist Christian forcing his views through a body count. He held his beliefs and made those who didn't live up to them pay with their lives.
As you were not a resident of Oklahoma on that day, it could be explained why you so carelessly chose words saying that the homosexual agenda is worst than terrorism. I can most certainly tell you through my own experience that is not true. I am sure there are many people in your voting district that laid a loved one to death after the terrorist attack on Oklahoma City. I kind of doubt you'll find one of them that will agree with you.
I was five years old when my mother died. I remember what a beautiful, wise, and remarkable woman she was. I miss her. Your harsh words and misguided beliefs brought me to tears, because you told me that my mother's killer was a better person than a group of people that are seeking safety and tolerance for themselves.
As someone left motherless and victimized by terrorists, I say to you very clearly you are absolutely wrong.
You represent a district in Oklahoma City and you very coldly express a lack of love, sympathy or understanding for what they've been through. Can I ask if you might have chosen wiser words were you a real Oklahoman that was here to share the suffering with Oklahoma City? Might your heart be a bit less cold had you been around to see the small bodies of children being pulled out of rubble and carried away by weeping firemen?
I've spent 12 years in Oklahoma public schools and never once have I had anyone try to force a gay agenda on me. I have seen, however, many gay students beat up and there's never a day in school that has went by when I haven't heard the word **** slung at someone. I've been called gay slurs many times and they hurt and I am not even gay so I can just imagine how a real gay person feels. You were a school teacher and you have seen those things too. How could you care so little about the suffering of some of your students?
Let me tell you the result of your words in my school. Every openly gay and suspected gay in the school were having to walk together Monday for protection. They looked scared. They've already experienced enough hate and now your words gave other students even more motivation to sneer at them and call them names. Afterall, you are a teacher and a lawmaker, many young people have taken your words to heart. That happens when you assume a role of responsibility in your community. I seriously think before this week ends that some kids here will be going home bruised and bloody because of what you said.
I wish you could've met my mom. Maybe she could've guided you in how a real Christian should be acting and speaking.
I have not had a mother for nearly 13 years now and wonder if there were fewer people like you around, people with more love and tolerance in their hearts instead of strife, if my mom would be here to watch me graduate from high school this spring. Now she won't be there. So I'll be packing my things and leaving Oklahoma to go to college elsewhere and one day be a writer and I have no intentions to ever return here. I have no doubt that people like you will incite crazy people to build more bombs and kill more people again. I don't want to be here for that. I just can't go through that again.
You may just see me as a kid, but let me try to teach you something. The old saying is sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt you. Well, your words hurt me. Your words disrespected the memory of my mom. Your words can cause others to pick up sticks and stones and hurt others.
Sincerely
Tucker

Deluded State Representative Sally Kern (R), Oklahoma

Please visit ABC News story on Rep. Kern (the file is in the video link on the right side of the page) and take a few minutes to listen to Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern's speech to a group of supporters where she proclaims that gays are a bigger threat to American society than terrorists.
"I honestly think it's the biggest threat even that our nation has," the lawmaker said. "Even more so than terrorists or Islam, which I think is a big threat."

dg

PS The scariest thing I heard her say... "I taught school for close to twenty years."

Congratulations RHS!

Congratulations to the staff, administration, school board and community of Ridley High School in Folsom, PA for moving in the right direction by granting full status to the Gay Straight Alliance there. Students and communities like these are daily helping educate against hate.

Less than four weeks ago Lawrence King was murdered in his classroom for being gay. Last week seventeen year old Simmie Williams was murdered in Ft. Lauderdale because he was gay. Only one year ago Ryan Keith Skipper of Winter Haven, Florida was murdered because he was gay. The perpetrators in all of these horrific murders were young men.

GSA's are helping make the necessary movement in changing hearts and changing minds against hatred.

We look forward to hearing of the good work you have begun in Pennsylvania!

We laud the work of Ms Jordan-Keller, an NEA trainer on Safe Schools, Bias, and GLBT Issues for her leadership with the RHS GSA!

dg

Thank you Ellen

Friday, February 29, 2008 Ellen DeGeneres on her show, recognized Lawrence "Larry" King and addressed the hatred that exists in our society.

Ellen said, "...when the message out there is so horrible that to be gay you can be killed for it, we need to change the message. Larry was not a second class citizen. I am not a second class citizen. It is OK if you're gay." "I would like you to start paying attention to how often being gay is the punchline in a monlogue or how often gay jokes are in a movie and that kind of message, laughing at someone because they're gay, is just a beginning. It starts with laughing at someone, then it's verbal abuse, then it's physical abuse and then it's this kid Brandon, killing a kid like Larry. " "This is an election year and there's a lot of talk about change. I think there's one thing we can change and that's hate. Check on who you're voting for and does that person really, truly believe that we are all equal under the law... and if you're not sure, change your vote. We deserve better."
The clip may be found at Ellen Tribute to Lawrence King .