Dress code blamed for teen's murder
Categories: Teens & tweens, Health & safety, In the news, Education
School dress codes are getting a lot of attention lately, mostly as a result of school officials actually trying to enforce them. In a sad twist on the dress code debate, a family in California is suing the Hueneme school district for not enforcing the dress code.Dawn and Gregory King claim that E.O. Green Junior High School official's failure to enforce the dress code resulted in the murder of their 15-year-old son, Larry King. Larry was gay and liked to wear feminine clothing and makeup to school. Apparently this angered classmate Brandon McInerney so much that he felt it necessary shoot Larry to death as he sat in class.
King's parents say that Larry's "unique vulnerabilities" made him a target for abuse and that the school should have protected him by not allowing him to dress this way. You may be asking yourself why Larry's own parents weren't enforcing the dress code, especially if they were so concerned, but the answer is simple: Larry didn't live with is parents. At the time of the shooting, Larry was a ward of the court and living at a shelter for abused, neglected and emotionally troubled children.
The Kings have filed a personal injury claim against the district and are seeking unspecified damages. As for Brandon McInerney, he has been charged as an adult in the shooting and also faces a charge of committing a hate crime. He has pleaded not guilty.
How could the school have bettered handled this situation? I just don't know. Had they enforced the dress code, they surely risked being accused of violating Larry's rights. And by not enforcing it, they are now being held responsible for the consequences of Larry exercising his rights.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
AndreAnna 8-18-2008 @ 9:49AM
This is a horrible tragic story all around the board - for the poor child who lost his life for being himself, so the poor child who was raised with so much hate in his heart he felt the need to extinguish another life based on a difference.
My issue lies here, "You may be asking yourself why Larry's own parents would allow him to dress this way if they were so concerned, but the answer is simple: Larry didn't live with is parents"
Even if Larry did live with his parents, you're assuming that it is a parental duty to enforce a child dressing a certain way to avoid bullying and chastising. But what kind of message would we as parents be sending if we told our children they had to dress a certain way - to abandon their individuality - for the sake of conforming.
If my son wanted to wear makeup and feminine clothes, I'd help him match and pick out the right shade. You can't change who people are. Where you can make a difference is in how children feel about themselves - learning self-respect and pride. Having a parent that "wouldn't allow him to dress that way" is no better than the parent telling the other kid that children who dress like that are wrong.
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Mihir 8-18-2008 @ 11:47AM
the issue at hand here is the enforcement (or in this case, the non-enforcement) of the school's dress code. no one was trying to discourage this child from expressing himself or to conform. the school should have been enforcing its dress code. and if he had lived with his parents, they should have been making sure he was following his school's dress code.
however, blaming the school for his murder because they were not enforcing the dress code is ridiculous.
Derek 8-20-2008 @ 11:31PM
This is stupid... so... so... stupid...
This whole thing is so typical America... blame everyone... but the person responsible.
I'm going to go with the parents, are horrible parents who just want some "ka-ching".
The parents aren't at fault, the school isn't at fault... the dead kid isn't at fault...
ONLY ONE PERSON is truly responsible for that kid's death, and its the guy who pulled the triger. It's just that simple...
Alison C 8-18-2008 @ 9:59AM
I am confused here??!!
What about the parents own responsibility? They may have been OK with what their son wore (and why not?) but some advise to him about how others may not be so accepting would have been good here and maybe about following rules even if others don't.
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Jillian 8-18-2008 @ 11:25AM
Alison, if you read the whole post you will see that the boy was a ward of the court living in a shelter. No parental guidance.
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rebecca Biernesser 8-18-2008 @ 11:48AM
It really doesn't matter who had custody of the child...but I do fine it strange that the state had custody and even they couldn't enforce the school's dress code....seems to me that the state has some questions they need to be answering too.
I'm not against school dress codes....i think they are there for a reason and for the most part, most schools don't have strict codes. Children have to learn as a child that there are some places you can wear certain clothes and that they might as well get used to it now b/c it's not changing..look at how many companies have dress codes.
As far as this poor child? The article said he was in state's custody and living in shelter for abused, neglected and emotionally troubled children. Why was he not getting better care? Don't get me wrong, shelters are great places, BUT this child was troubled and shelters can only offer so much help.....
On a side note, i don't think the parents deserve jack. They lost custody of their child for a reason....abuse, neglect, etc, why should they be allowed finacial gain over the lost of a child they neglected and abused? BUT that's just my opinion and i'm sure others have theirs...
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AndreAnna 8-18-2008 @ 12:01PM
What part of the dress code was he breaking though? Is just him dressing feminine that was the issue? Or was he breaking it in another way? Because if that's the case, that's just ridiculous. Do they make the girls wear skirts and pig tails?
In any case, yes, the school should have enforced a dress code (as long as it was fair) across the board. However, a kid with that much ignorance and hate probably would have taken action against the kid, regardless of how he dressed. I'm sure his personality came through his clothes.
rebecca Biernesser 8-18-2008 @ 12:34PM
The article doesn't say what the the dress code was for that school, so i don't know and can't answer your questions....and i was speaking about schools in general, in case you missed that point...
If the school had of enforce the code then they wouldn't have be held accountable for that.
And you are right, personalities will come out regradless of your clothes....
queenoqueens 8-18-2008 @ 12:17PM
One might even go so far as to say the murderer would have killed the boy anyway, because he was gay. This was a very disturbed person who was just waiting for an excuse to take out his rage on someone.
Dress code or no dress code.
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Jenn 8-18-2008 @ 12:18PM
I would like to know the circumstances around his being a ward of the court. Because if his parents abused or neglected him, and are now trying to profit from his death? THAT is just horrible.
On the issue at hand, however : yes, if the school has a dress code it should be enforced. But the school can hardly be held responsible for the actions of a violent and deranged teenager. If Brandon shot him because he was gay, I can't imagine that his clothing was the only indicator of that.
Perhaps Brandon shot him because he thought Larry was attracted to him and Brandon felt threated by that. Perhaps he just randomly picked somebody. Who knows? But I really don't think that lack of enforcement of the dress code was the CAUSE of this boy's tragic death. This is a bizarre situation that really seems as if the parents are trying to benefit from their son's death. They are not suing the family of the boy who shot him, the real responsible party (the boy, I mean and arguably the parents of said child) -- they are suing the school, the organization from which they are more likely to get money.
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Jenn 8-18-2008 @ 12:22PM
I would like to know the circumstances around his being a ward of the court. Because if his parents abused or neglected him, and are now trying to profit from his death? THAT is just horrible.
On the issue at hand, however : yes, if the school has a dress code it should be enforced. But the school can hardly be held responsible for the actions of a violent and deranged teenager. If Brandon shot him because he was gay, I can't imagine that his clothing was the only indicator of that.
Perhaps Brandon shot him because he thought Larry was attracted to him and Brandon felt threated by that. Perhaps he just randomly picked somebody. Who knows? But I really don't think that lack of enforcement of the dress code was the CAUSE of this boy's tragic death. This is a bizarre situation that really seems as if the parents are trying to benefit from their son's death. They are not suing the family of the boy who shot him, the real responsible party (the boy, I mean and arguably the parents of said child) -- they are suing the school, the organization from which they are more likely to get money.
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JoAnn 8-18-2008 @ 12:29PM
I want to start this post by saying that I am not judging Larry King's lifestyle, nor his desire to wear makeup and dress in a feminine fashion in any way.
I do need to comment, however, that this story was far more in depth than Brandon McInerney simply being uncomfortable with the way that Larry dressed, and thus deciding to murder him on that basis. Apparrently this was also brought about by Larry King's confession to Brandon McInerney that he had a "crush" oh him, spurring Brandon's hatred and tension.
Further, Larry King's parents did not lose custody of him due to abuse or neglect. Rather, they had adopted Larry, and Larry was experiencing many, many behavioral issues. Thus, he was living in a home for abused, neglected and EMOTIONALLY TROUBLED children. I just want to underscore the emotionally troubled part, as that is why he was currently a ward of the court.
That being said, I do not agree with holding the school district responsible for not having a more gender-specific dress code, or that parents suit claiming such. In today's litigious society, it doesn't shock me, though.
My real point here is that while it is our responsibility as PARENTS to provide our children guidance in what is appropriate dress for school- it is just as much our responsibility to teach our children about tolerance in today's world.
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Kirstie 8-18-2008 @ 1:37PM
Well, my first thought is this - is dressing in feminine clothes and makeup actaully against the dress code for a male student in this high school? It certainly wasn't at the high school I went to, and I can think of one individual in particular who was a big fan of uggs, capris, and Sephora. He got a quite a few strange looks, especially from the faculty, but he wasn't violating the dress code in any way. I've never heard of it being against the dress code in any public school around my area.
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Bob Beegeez 8-18-2008 @ 2:22PM
Mandating standards of gender conformity in elementary and secondary schools is unhealthy & wrong - and professional educators understand this. If mere attire justifies capital punishment in the eyes of some, then clothing is not the issue at hand. Tolerance, acceptance, anger management, student conduct, and school management all must be examined in Lawrence King's murder. The life-ending and criminal behavior that Brandon chose had very real consequences. Brandon is the issue here, not Larry.
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Uly 8-18-2008 @ 8:55PM
You are very right.
A 8-18-2008 @ 5:30PM
We had a school uniform and no make-up rules. Its that easy. No bob it is not "unhealthy & wrong" it is so kids can focus on studying, and not on the clothes that we were wearing.
We had a guy at school who thought he was a famale. But because he had male on his enrolment form, he had to wear the male uniform. But he still had long hair (god gam it was the sleekst shinest hair in the world!) and on mufti day he wore more femine clothes. But on mufti day nobody did any work anyway.
Any form of casual clothes are distracting. Maybe more public schools need to adapt a uniform?
(I attended a public school)
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Uly 8-18-2008 @ 6:27PM
Lot of victim blaming going on here.
Oh, his parents should have stopped him dressing like that! No, the school should have!
What you're ultimately saying is that he *deserved* to be killed because of how he dressed.
The person to blame is his killer... and, I suppose, his parents.
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ame s 8-18-2008 @ 9:38PM
How about putting the blame on the parents who are more at fault - the ones that raised the demon who shot him because he didn't like how he was dressed?
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ablndmomnt 8-18-2008 @ 11:37PM
What about the fact that these people would be the first to scream if the school HAD in forced the dress code and said he wasn't allowed to "express" himself. Whats a school to do if they get sued every which way? I guess it's damned if you do and damned if you don't. I think after this young man that will never get to live out his life, I feel the most sorry for the school district that will spend money on a worthless lawsuit.
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k 8-19-2008 @ 12:42AM
my first question is simple.....what was he doing in foster care? his parents are blaming everyone else but themselves. they should have been taking care of their child and not abusing him.
"At the time of the shooting, Larry was a ward of the court and living at a shelter for abused, neglected and emotionally troubled children."
sounds like his parents should be sued!
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