Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

October 11, 2008 5:30:35 AM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Troubled, Gay, and Murdered in Junior High

Posted Jul 21, 08 6:09 PM CDT in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – A flamboyant cross-dresser, 14-year-old Lawrence King was killed in his Los Angeles school by a boy he loved. The murder trial starts this week, but analysts are debating another question: Whether King's death could have been avoided. Newsweek goes behind the scenes, looking at King's troubled upbringing, the teachers who argued his case, and the student who ultimately killed him.

Some teachers wanted to clamp down on King for flirting openly with boys at school. Others, including a lesbian assistant principal, supported him; one even gave him a dress as a gift. But most agree that the school failed King, and even his alleged killer—and that US middle schools are ill-prepared for students who identify as gay at an increasingly young age.

Source Newsweek

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Tucker Carlson Claims Gay Bashed Him

    Aug 30, 07 12:33 PM CDT
    Tucker Carlson Claims Gay Bashed Him After bragging on the air that he hit a gay man who “bothered” him in a mall bathroom, Tucker Carlson is angrily denying he’s a hate criminal. “It infuriates me to be called a gay-basher, since he was the predator, not me,” the conservative MSNBC host pled to the New York Daily News. Blog bedlam ensued after the broadcast Tuesday evening, and a prominent gay-rights group demanded an apology. More »

Students pass by a makeshift memorial honoring fifteen-year-old Lawrence King, who was declared brain dead after being shot in the head in class by a fellow student on Tuesday, February 12, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Kynt Cothron, left, and Vyxsin Fiala, right, hold a vigil for Lawrence King, 15, an Oxnard student who was declared brain dead on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, in West Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A student places a flower at a makeshift memorial honoring 15-year-old Lawrence King at E.O. Green School Thursday, February 14, 2008 in Oxnard, Calif.   (AP Photo)
Students gather around a makeshift memorial at E.O. Green middle school, honoring slain school student Lawrence King, 15, in this Feb. 14, 2008 file photo, in Oxnard, Calif.   (AP Photo)
Vyxsin Fiala, right, and Vincent Ponce-Ortiz attend a vigil for Lawrence King on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, in West Los Angeles, Calif.   (AP Photo)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (
1
 of 2)

Tags

school shooting  • homosexuality  • gay  • hate crime  • sexuality  • junior high


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular

Loading...

Other Arts & Living Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »