http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid52689.aspAt 8:15 a.m. on February 12, Brandon McInerney, age 14, stormed into the computer lab of Oxnard, Calif.’s E.O. Green Junior High. Armed with a small caliber handgun, he shot 15-year-old Lawrence King twice in the head in front of a roomful of students.
If they didn’t see the execution coming, most of King’s peers at school knew he was being bullied for being proudly gay and flouting male conventions by accessorizing his school uniform with eye shadow and high-heeled boots. In the months leading up to that morning, King had undergone a metamorphosis. Guided by a welcoming support system at the group home where he lived, the teenager was encouraged to dress as he pleased and live as the person he wanted to be. What King and others didn’t recognize was that this encouragement—and his response to it—placed him on a collision course with a culture that found him repulsive.
Even before his death, Larry King was notorious. He was the sassy gay kid who bragged about his flashy attire and laughed off bullying, which for him included everything from name-calling to wet paper towels hurled in his direction. King was an easy target—he stood 5 foot 4 and was all of 100 pounds.
The boy’s unconventional family life was also fodder for gossip around the lockers of E.O. Green. Even though both his parents reside in Oxnard, about an hour’s drive northwest of Los Angeles, King lived at Casa Pacifica, a group home for abused, neglected, and emotionally troubled children. The facility houses kids until they are returned to their families or taken in by foster parents. The average stay at Casa Pacifica, according to staff member Melissa Flavin, is 30 days. King lived there for over four months.
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http://www.advocate.com/news_detail_ektid52978.aspGay, lesbian, and bisexual teens are 190% more likely to abuse illegal substances than heterosexual youths, MedicalNewsToday.com reported Wednesday. A new study by the University of Pittsburgh shows that among this group of LGB teens, the odds were higher for bisexual youths, 340%, and lesbian youths, at 400%.
"Homophobia, discrimination, and victimization are largely what are responsible for these substance use disparities in young gay people," said study leader Michael P. Marshal, assistant professor of psychiatry at the Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC. "History shows that when marginalized groups are oppressed and do not have equal opportunities and equal rights, they suffer. Our results show that gay youth are clearly no exception."
The results come from a look at 18 previous studies between 1994 and 2006, which tested the associations between drug use and sexual orientation in teens. The substances in the study included cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and injection drugs.
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We have made immense gains in previous years. My own life speaks volumes to the amount we have gained. But when we are close to twice as likely to have addiction problems and kids are getting killed for trying to be themselves we sure have a long way to go.