EDITORIAL: Bullying of Gay Students Has No Place In Our Schools

On February 12, 2008, Larry King, a 15-year-old eighth grader at E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, California, walked into class, expecting an average day of school. It turned out to be anything but. Larry King was shot twice in the back of the head by fellow classmate, Brandon McInerney. According to the 20/20 episode that aired on October 7, 2011, the reason: Larry had a crush on Brandon.

This is just one of many examples of bullying of gay students in schools around the world. An extreme case nonetheless, gay bullying has been known to lead to homicide and, more commonly, suicide. Day after day, gay and lesbian students attend school knowing that they will be judged based on their sexual preference and they will be put down, threatened, or maybe even worse. These students should be able to walk the halls of their schools with a feeling of safety and security, and should not have to feel reserved in their sexual orientation. Instead, it has been found that nine out of ten LGBT teens have reported being bullied recently while at school. These numbers are an outrage, and this issue needs to be tackled right away.

Although bullying of gay students will never be completely contained, steps must be taken to prevent it as much as possible. Perhaps most importantly, parents need to teach their children, from an early age, to be open-minded and respectful of all individuals, regardless of their sexual preference. In schools, students must be held responsible for their actions and words and a no-tolerance policy has to be put in place. It does not matter who an individual is attracted to, that individual is still a person, and has to be treated with respect.