http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/feb/12/much-has-changed-since-kings-death-four-years/
Middle school was tougher on Taylor Kennepohl than it was on most.
Even before eighth grade, when she realized she was gay, she endured a barrage of anti-gay insults. They called her a litany of derogatory names meant to sting. It made her feel like a freak.
The Ventura teen struggled with depression and thought about suicide, keeping her sexual orientation a secret.
“At that point in time, there was really no option to be open and not have your life become a living hell in middle school,” she said.
But in the four years since, things have gotten better. The name-calling has stopped. Students accept her for who she is. Taylor, now 17, chalks some of it up to her and her classmates maturing. But something else also changed.
The nation started to address the issue of anti-gay bullying in schools, and many say that is partly because of what happened in Oxnard four years ago today.
In the weeks leading up to Feb. 12, 2008, 15-year-old Larry King began not only telling his friends at E.O. Green School that he was gay, he also began wearing high-heeled women’s boots and makeup to class.
Some students were uncomfortable with it. Some thought it was no big deal.
Brandon McInerney thought it was a big deal.
During first-period English class, after the two had taunted each other for several weeks, McInerney shot King twice in the head. King’s death two days later made news around the world and sparked what some said was the start of a national discussion on anti-gay bullying in the classroom.
“What happened to Larry King in February of 2008 was the opening salvo in a barrage of horrifying stories that came to light from then to now,” said Eliza Byard, executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.