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USA: Gay teen killed for flirting, say friends

Mon 31 Mar 2008 In: International News

Larry King was a gay teenager who came to school in make-up, high heels and earrings. And when the other boys made fun of him, he would tease them by flirting with them. On 12 February, another student, Brandon McInerney, 14, shot him twice in the head at the back of the computer room at their school. The slaying of the 15-year-old has led to demands that schools in the US do more to educate youngsters about sex discrimination. Police have refused to discuss McInerney's motive but the day before the shooting Larry told McInerney he liked him, friend Eduardo Segure said. "I think that caused the problem," he said. If Larry had flirted with the other boy, "that can be very threatening to someone's ego and their sense of identity", said Jaana Juvonen, a psychology professor at the University of California. The shooting has galvanised Oxnard, a city of nearly 200,000 people about 100km northwest of Los Angeles. Several vigils for Larry have been held, including a march that drew about 1,000 people. Like the killings of some other gay and transgender students - such as Matthew Shepard in Wyoming, and Brandon Teena, who was killed when friends discovered she was not a biological male and whose story was the subject of the movie Boys Don't Cry - Larry's death has drawn national attention and outrage. Comic Ellen DeGeneres, who is a lesbian, said on her talk show: "Larry was not a second-class citizen. I'm not a second-class citizen. It is OK if you are gay." This News.com.au story continues on the link below.    

Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff

First published: Monday, 31st March 2008 - 9:22am

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