”On Feb. 12, an openly gay 15-year-old boy named Larry, who was an
eighth-grader in Oxnard, Calif., was murdered by a fellow eighth-grader
named Brandon,” DeGeneres said at the beginning of her program.

Annons
Annons

”Larry was killed because he was gay,” she said. ”Days before he was
murdered, Larry asked his killer to be his valentine. I don’t want to be
political. This is not political. I’m not a political person but this is
personal to me. A boy has been killed, and a number of lives have been
ruined. And somewhere along the line the killer, Brandon, got the
message that it’s so threatening and so awful and so horrific that Larry
would want to be his valentine that killing Larry seemed to be the right
thing to do. And when the message out there is so horrible that to be
gay you can get killed for it, we need to change the message.”

”Larry was not a second-class citizen, I am not a second-class citizen,
it is OK if you’re gay,” DeGeneres concluded. ”This is an election year
and there’s a lot of talk about change. I think one thing we should
change is hate. Check on who you’re voting for, and does that person
really, truly believe that we are all equal under the law? And if you’re
not sure, change your vote. We deserve better.”

Lawrence King was shot during class at E.O. Green Junior High School in
Oxnard on Feb. 12 and died three days later.

King was openly gay and wore makeup, feminine jewelry and high-heel
boots. As a result, he had been bullied and harassed by other students,
including Brandon McInerney, 14, who has been charged with premeditated
murder with a hate-crime enhancement.