Remembering Larry

Lawrence "Larry" Fobes King was murdered in school by a younger classmate for not dressing like most guys, which they saw as acting "gay." It is obvious to me her was transgender! How can his happen in 2008. Easy people at carefully taught to hate transgender people and anything or anyone that is not seen as "normal." Tennessee is even working on a law that says:

... no public elementary or middle school shall permit any instruction or materials discussing sexual orientation other than heterosexuality.
http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/bills/currentga/BILL/HB2997.pdf

Not saying Larry was gay, but they sure perceived him that way.

Several students at the school said the victim sometimes was the butt of jokes because of his nonconformist behavior and style of dress.

"He didn't care," said Matthew Puga, a seventh-grader. "He'd say, I am what I am."
http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/feb/13/
violence-at-eo-green-school-student-shot-in/

Larry's uncle set up this website for his nephew.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Today eighth-grader Lawrence King, 15, of Oxnard, CA, was declared brain dead after a school shooting on Tuesday. King was shot twice by a fellow student while in class at E.O. Green Junior High School. Prosecutors are charging the assailant with murder with a hate-crime enhancement. King remains on a ventilator for organ donation. The victim was openly gay and was reported to have occasionally worn feminine clothing and makeup to school. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that King's peers attribute his attack to his open sexual orientation.
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20080216100311101

Slain teen remembered as fun, quirky at Rainbow Alliance candlelight vigil

Blue was Larry King's favorite color eye shadow.

Along with his signature black, high-heeled boots and varying shades of lipstick, friends say he wore dramatic makeup and dressed more flamboyantly in the last two weeks before he was shot to death by a classmate at an Oxnard middle school.

The cosmetics added a quirkiness to his personality, friends said. But they didn't define the 15-year-old boy Melissa Castillo knew.

"He didn't know he had a lot of friends," Castillo said. "We all thought he was funny but not in a mocking way. We all really liked him. I wish he knew that."

...

"Any 15-year-old is finding out who they are. It's normal to experiment in any direction," she said.

King was shot Tuesday morning inside a computer lab at the school. He was declared brain dead on Wednesday and taken off life support Thursday night. Prosecutors have charged a classmate, Brandon McInerney, 14, with first-degree murder and committing a hate crime and want him tried as an adult.

Students have said King was teased because he was gay. Some classmates also reported a confrontation between the two boys in the days before the shooting.

Authorities have not released details on a motive, and prosecutors have declined to elaborate on the hate crime charge. A hate crime is defined as an illegal action taken toward a person based on any of several criteria, such as race, religion or sexual orientation.

http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/
feb/16/slain-teen-remembered-as-fun-quirky-at-rainbow/