Lawrence King

I hope by now that everyone knows about the death of Lawrence King. On Tuesday, February 12th, 15-year-old Larry was shot twice in the back of the head in his school library in Oxnard, CA. Larry was living in a foster facility, for undisclosed reasons. Recently, he came out to his classmates as gay. He started wearing effeminate clothing and makeup to school. He made no secret of his sexuality. A 14-year-old classmate shot Larry, reportedly because of his sexuality, and has been charged with a hate-crime. As CNN so eloquently reports, the case "might be more complicated than at first glance." According to some classmates, Larry had made public his crush on the child who would become his murderer. Again, CNN reports, the shooter was "humiliated by homosexual advances and just snapped."

I wonder if Larry King "just snapped" when he decided to reveal his sexuality to his peers? Did he "just snap" when he endured the teasing of his classmates? Did he "just snap" each day as he walked into Jr High School in earrings, makeup, and heels? Or I wonder if rather Larry "just snapped" under the pressure of himself, deciding the teasing and risk of death were better than pretending to be some all-amerikan version of a 15-year-old boy?

What makes a 14-year-old decide that murder and prison are better than some faggot ruining the all-amerikan version of what he was supposed to be?

Larry is obviously a victim here. But it is also obvious that the shooter is a victim too. Who told him his heterosexually is so sacred that the penetration of two bullets into another child's skull would restore his "humiliated" masculinity?

GLSEN - www.rememberinglawrence.org
King Family Website - www.rememberlarry.com