Post by Cloud on Mar 2, 2008 3:51:14 GMT -5
Gay Middle School Student Killed in Oxnard, CA School Shooting
For those that believe that LGBTQ folks don't need protection, read what happened INSIDE of a middle school. A child was killed because he was different. Please do what you can to stand for children, especially children who are 'different'. Hate crimes, gay bashings, violence toward LGBTQ and non-gender-conforming individuals happen every day.
Gay Middle School Student Killed in Oxnard, CA School Shooting; Hate-Crime Charges Have Been Filed
Statement by Debra Chasnoff, Academy Award®-Winning Documentary Filmmaker, Leading Expert on Creating LGBT-Inclusive Learning Environments
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.
"The murder of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old openly gay student at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, CA, is a terrible tragedy. It is a horrific reminder that harassment of and violence toward gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming students is still a serious problem in schools across the country and it starts at younger ages than most adults realize. We wish we could say we've come a long way since 1998 when Matthew Shepard was murdered when he was in college just because he was gay. But now, similarly-motivated hate crimes are occurring in middle schools.
Today, we mourn the loss of this young student and extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends. We also commit ourselves to redoubling our efforts to prevent tragedies like this from ever occurring again. One of the most important things we can do is support educators and parents to pro-actively help young students cultivate understanding and compassion for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender expression.
For those that believe that LGBTQ folks don't need protection, read what happened INSIDE of a middle school. A child was killed because he was different. Please do what you can to stand for children, especially children who are 'different'. Hate crimes, gay bashings, violence toward LGBTQ and non-gender-conforming individuals happen every day.
Gay Middle School Student Killed in Oxnard, CA School Shooting; Hate-Crime Charges Have Been Filed
Statement by Debra Chasnoff, Academy Award®-Winning Documentary Filmmaker, Leading Expert on Creating LGBT-Inclusive Learning Environments
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.
"The murder of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old openly gay student at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, CA, is a terrible tragedy. It is a horrific reminder that harassment of and violence toward gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming students is still a serious problem in schools across the country and it starts at younger ages than most adults realize. We wish we could say we've come a long way since 1998 when Matthew Shepard was murdered when he was in college just because he was gay. But now, similarly-motivated hate crimes are occurring in middle schools.
Today, we mourn the loss of this young student and extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends. We also commit ourselves to redoubling our efforts to prevent tragedies like this from ever occurring again. One of the most important things we can do is support educators and parents to pro-actively help young students cultivate understanding and compassion for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender expression.
People can be so f**king mean