Posted on 02/15/2008 10:29:06 AM PST by paltz
(CNSNews.com) - A 14-year-old California boy is charged with a hate crime as well as attempted murder for shooting a 15-year-old boy who "sometimes wore makeup, high heels and other feminine attire," as the Associated Press reported.
The victim, Lawrence King, is brain dead, and prosecutors expect this to become a murder case very soon. They want to try the young suspect as an adult.
King was shot in the head Tuesday morning while sitting in class at a junior high school in Oxnard, Calif.
California has some of the nation's most liberal anti-discrimination, anti-bullying and "diversity" laws, including several that apply to schools and took effect on Jan. 1.
Homosexual activists have seized on Lawrence King case.
"Ten years after Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered because of his sexual orientation, a 15-year-old gay California student is brain dead after a student allegedly shot him because of his sexual orientation and gender expression," the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network said in a news release. (The group says it's main focus is ensuring safe schools for all students.)
According to GLSEN, the 14-year-old suspect was among a group of students known to bully and harass King, who reportedly told classmates he was homosexual.
"As a nation, we've had our heads in the sand for far too long," said Kevin Jennings, executive director of GLSEN. "We need to do everything we can to prevent something like this from happening again."
GLSEN says the problem of "anti-LGBT bullying" must be addressed in the nation's schools. "We must confront the fact that LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] students are much more likely to be threatened with a weapon and much more likely to feel unsafe at school than other students," Jennings said.
Judy Shepard, executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, said the attack on King "underscores the fact that we cannot let hate go unchecked in our schools and communities." She urged "all parents and teachers to educate their children and students about acceptance, understanding and compassion."
California leads on LGBT issues
As GLSEN itself noted, California is one of only 10 states that protect students from bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation. It is one of only five states that protect students from bullying and harassment based on gender identity/expression.
"Safe schools laws and policies are vitally important, but simply having a law is not enough," Jennings said on Thursday. "Schools need to implement staff development and training to address anti-LGBT bullying and harassment. Schools also need programs that teach young people respect and tolerance."
Too much emphasis on sex, some say
But some conservative groups say California has gone overboard when it comes to "sexual indoctrination" in the schools.
The California-based Campaign for Children and Families has just launched an appeal urging parents to removed their children from public schools.
The group argues that home schools and church schools "are the only way to rescue children from sexual indoctrination."
CCF points to two news laws, SB 777 (The Student Civil Rights Act) and AB 394 (The Safe Place to Learn Act), which took effect on January 1.
SB 777 bars any classroom instruction or school-sponsored activity that "promotes a discriminatory bias" against sexual orientation and gender. (According to CCF, the bill "functionally requires public school instructional materials and school-sponsored activities to positively portray cross-dressing, sex-change operations, homosexual 'marriages,' and all aspects of homosexuality and bisexuality, including so-called 'gay history.'")
AB 394 requires that school districts be monitored to ensure they are complying with laws regarding student safety and harraasment. (CCF said AB 394 "requires public schools to distribute controversial material to teachers, students, and parents which promotes transsexuality, bisexuality, and homosexuality, all under the guise of 'anti-harassment' training.")
"This is the type of gender-bending education which students may have to endure unless their parents rescue them from the increasingly negative public school environment," said Randy Thomasson, president of Campaign for Children and Families, at a news conference earlier this week.
CCF has set up a RescueYourChild Web site to help parents who are concerned about the new laws.
>>So many of them hate men, BUT they
>>also hate straight women, unless they can “flip” them, lol.
True, but I doubt you’d get them to admit they “hate”.
Per the gay NewSpeak dictionary, 43rd edition, The “Hate” word only applies to heterosexuals who find homosexual behavior objectionable.
They don’t have to admit they “hate,” THEY JUST DO. Most Lesbians are truly hateful, of just about everybody. Plus violent, far more than straights. Everyone seems to be afraid of Lesbians. However, when you take them up on their threats, they back down.
If you read the post you know I neither said nor implied any such thing.
So many hateful comments on this thread.
I love FR and my fellow freepers but threads like this make me wince.
IMO the proper sort of comments to be made in a thread like this are...
“Prayers for the family of the child that was shot”
“Prayers and best wishes for the child him/her self”
and perhaps even “prayers for the disturbed kid that fired the shot”
Some of the comments being made here are disturbing.
Why did the school principal allow a 14-year old male student to wear makeup, high heels and feminine attire to school?
Will you volunteer this stance of yours during voir dire?
So you admit you're afraid of homosexuals...maybe even being homophobic? Gee, I wonder what it is you're really afraid of...
The two men who killed Matthew Shephard had, on previous occasions, traded sex for drugs with Shephard.
Funny how articles that reference the incident always seem to leave that part out.
About 20 - 30 extra years in a maximum security facility.
>>No excuse for a shooting, but the kid was a little more than “gay”. He wore dresses, high-heels, lipstick, and fingernail polish to school.<<
However the victim dressed, if its first degree murder the killer should already be getting the death penalty so calling it a “hate crime” would be pointless.
I think that’s true, the drug money angle in the Mathew Shepard killing—the fact that remains hidden is that Shepard’s main killer was known to have indulged in homosexual activity himself and was a self-professed “bisexual”.
Do you have a source for that? It contradicts what I have read.
This thread should have been deleted.
The replies on this thread are disgraceful and embarrassing. If anyone needs to wonder why social conservatives have lost the culture war, they only need to look at the knuckle-dragging morons posting their sympathies for this psychopathic killer.
I feel the same way Drew.
I wish the admin mod would remove this thread.
I am ashamed of these comments...I don’t want people to read them and judge all freepers by what they see here :-(
I must be lucky, because I spent 9 years in private schools, and I saw no bullying of any kind. Not even serious teasing and that was in the 70's and 80's. Sure, there were some kids who were thought of as "dorks" and "geeks," and there was joking behind people's backs, but nothing really mean-spirited.
If you really, REALLY, think the average private school has the same type of law-of-the-jungle type atmosphere of the average private school, I can only say that doesn't come close to my experience, even more so when I consider my children's private school.
You might be more comfortable living in Iran, I understand the regime there thinks a lot like you.
Depends on if the vic is member of protected class.
If vic is member then it is “hate crime”, if not vic is just dead.
Easy to see why this experience made a permanent impression on our family - especially when it was the public school kids who were calling to check on her, sending cards, stuffed animals, coming by with treats, and helping her with make up work. The kids in her Sunday school class did nothing - she was told she was an unrepentant sinner.
Does this mean I don't think bullying goes on in other places? Of course it does - but this is our experience, others will vary.
Nope.Not a chance.Just think of it as my own little journey into "legislation nullification".And,no,I don't care if my failure to disclose this to a court is a crime.
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