Domestic Disturbances: Dude, You’ve Got Problems

Early this month, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old boy from Springfield, Mass., hanged himself after months of incessantly being hounded by his classmates for being “gay.” (He was not; but did, apparently, like to do well in school.)
In March, 2007, 17-year-old Eric Mohat shot himself in the head, after a long-term tormentor told him in class, “Why don’t you go home and shoot yourself; no one will miss you.” Eric liked theater, played the piano and wore bright clothing, a lawyer for his family told ABC news, and so had long been subject to taunts of “gay,” “fag,” “queer” and “homo.”
Teachers and school administrators, the Mohats’ lawsuit now asserts, did nothing.
We should do something to get this insanity under control. See Domestic Disturbances: Dude, You’ve Got Problems
To the bully, calling a boy “gay” rarely refers to sexuality, Judith Warner writes. * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual

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Mother calls for change after son’s suicide

A mother whose 11-year-old son took his own life this week is speaking out. She says her son, Carl Joseph Walker Hoover, was constantly bullied at school in the weeks leading up to his death.

Sirdeander Walker: I called his name and he didn’t respond. So I went upstairs to get Carl — and um. I found him, you know. I found him. My baby.

What happened to 44-year old Sirdeaner walker is any parent’s worst nightmare. On Monday evening, she found her 11-year old son, Carl, dead in his bedroom. He had committed suicide by hanging himself with an extension cord.

Sirdeaner Walker: It was just unbelievable to me. I thought I was in a dream. I thought I was in a nightmare. I couldn’t lift him – so all I could do was scream.

In the days since, Sirdeaner and her close family – have been asking the question why? They say Carl was a great kid who loved sports and was involved in many community organizations and attended church every Sunday. The answer, they believe, can be traced to the cruelty of some of his classmates at the New Leadership charter school in Springfield.

Sirdeander Walker: He was being teased at the school – he was being made fun of – he was being bullied. A lot of it surrounded by “you act gay,” “are you gay.”

Walker, captain of the 6th grade parent teacher organization says the bullying has been going on all year — she knew Carl had been upset by it and had alerted the school.

See Mother calls for change after son’s suicide NECN

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Equality California Remembers Lawrence King One Year after the Teen’s Shooting Death

SAN FRANCISCO – Equality California honors and remembers the life of Lawrence King, a gay junior high school student from Oxnard, CA, who was shot in the head one-year-ago by his classmate at E.O. Green Junior High School. The 15-year-old died of his injuries last February 13.

Brandon McInerney, King’s shooter, is being tried on first-degree murder and a hate crimes charge. According to reports from friends of Lawrence King, who self-identified as gay, King sometimes wore make-up and feminine jewelry and was the target of ridicule by some of his classmates.

Last year, EQCA sponsored AB 3015 (Brownley), the Foster Youth School Education Act, which was introduced to better protect LGBT foster youth like Larry from violence at school and was signed into law by Governor Schwarzenegger.

“As we remember the tragic, senseless killing of Lawrence King, we must continue to take the appropriate steps to ensure that no one else becomes a victim to homophobia in our schools,” said Geoff Kors, executive director for Equality California. “On the anniversary of this tragedy, we stand committed to defending safe schools laws that EQCA lobbied to enact to prevent any young person from being bullied, harassed or worse because of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.”

Equality California-sponsored legislation, the Student’s Civil Rights Act, SB 777 (Kuehl), which was implemented in 2008 and reinforces existing prohibitions of discrimination in publicly funded schools and activities, including discrimination based on religion, race, disability, gender and sexual orientation, has been challenged by a failed referendum and an ongoing federal lawsuit.

EQCA works to achieve equality and secure legal protections for LGBT people. To improve the lives of LGBT Californians, EQCA sponsors legislation and coordinates efforts to ensure its passage, lobbies legislators and other policy makers, builds coalitions, develops community strength and empowers individuals and other organizations to engage in the political process. www.eqca.org