The Murder of LAWRENCE KING - Megan McBride
If you haven’t heard of Lawrence King, let me give you some information about him, since the media has not given sufficient coverage to his story. Lawrence King was a 15 year old, eighth grader at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, California.
Lawrence King
He appeared to be just like every other student in his class, happy and outgoing. Lawrence was special, and very brave, because he was an openly gay student. He didn’t hide who he was or what he was; in fact he even wore high heels and dramatic make-up to school from time to time! He was proud of who he was, and he understood that it was perfectly fine to be gay. Unfortunately, on February 12th, 2008, Lawrence was murdered for that very reason. Another eighth grader took his life simply because he was gay.
A few days prior to his murder, Larry asked fellow eighth grader 14 year old Brandon McInery to be his Valentine. Apparently, Brandon was so upset by this invitation that he decided Larry deserved to die for it. On February 12th, in a computer classroom with about 20 other students watching, Brandon McInery shot Larry in the head. McInery is now being charged with murder, bringing a firearm to school, and has also been given a hate-crime enhancement which means that, if convicted, he with spend the next 50 years, or more, in prison.
I would like to ask a very simple question. Where did Brandon McInery’s intolerance toward homosexuals come from? WHY AREN’T BRANDON’S PARENTS BEING HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR 14 YEAR OLD SON’S THOUGHTLESS ACTIONS? It is entirely possible that Brandon learned gross intolerance towards minorities in his home. He was of the mentality that killing Larry was somehow justified because he was gay. I do believe that McInery should be punished for what he did, but he isn’t the only one to blame. McInery was a victim too. He was a victim of hateful teaching.
The entire situation upsets me for a number of reasons, but there is one thing that really pisses me off. Why didn’t I hear of this murder when it actually took place? I didn’t hear about this incident until 2 weeks after the fact! We all hear about the idiot who killed 15 innocent people at a mall, for no reason, right away, but we haven’t heard enough about the innocent 14 year old boy who was shot in the head simply for being gay.
What is the difference between these two incidents? In both cases innocent people were killed. Well, what makes one more important than the other? What the hell is wrong with this country? Lawrence King absolutely did not deserve to die and it makes me sick to realize that, apparently, the media does not feel that his murder is important enough to cover. We hear all about tabloid headlines regarding which celebrities have put on weight, or what they are wearing, but not enough coverage has been given to an innocent child murdered because of his sexual orientation. This is ridiculous! Our country’s priorities are so fucked up it’s sickening. I am far from being through venting, but I’m going to end this anyway, because honestly I don’t know what else to say except that so many people have made so many mistakes that are unforgivable regarding this senseless act of violence.
Lawrence, I hope you are in a better place now and free of pain. You were a joy to those who knew you. We all miss you very much, and we will make sure that you are not forgotten.
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