Candlelight Vigil in Remembrance of Oxnard High School Shooting and Hate Crime Victim Lawrence King to Take Place on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at West Hollywood Park.

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- In response to the senseless shooting of Oxnard high school student Lawrence "Larry" King which is being prosecuted as a hate crime, the City of West Hollywood, the Gay, Straight Alliance (GSA) and members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community of Southern California will gather at a candlelight vigil which will be held in remembrance of King and to bring attention to the violence and harassment that LGBT people endure each day. The candlelight vigil will be held on Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 7 p.m. beginning at West Hollywood Park, 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard.

According to classmates, King, an eighth grade student at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, California, was often accosted by his classmates for wearing make-up and nail polish and was said to recently have proclaimed himself as gay. On Monday, February 11, 2008, King was brutally shot by a 14-year old school mate in what prosecutors are calling a premeditated hate crime.

"It is disheartening to me and to all of us in the LGBT community that children and adults alike cannot be safe from harassment and violence because of who we are as people," said West Hollywood Mayor John J. Duran, who is himself a gay man and the President of Equality California, the largest LGBT lobbying/advocacy organization on the West Coast. "We join the hundreds of students in Oxnard who turned out last week to mourn Lawrence King and take a stand against violence," he continued.

"Despite the many advances that have been achieved to protect gays and lesbians against discrimination and the changing attitude of Americans about the LGBT community we are reminded in the wake of this terrible tragedy that there is still profound hatred in our country," said West Hollywood Mayor Pro Tempore Jeffrey Prang.

"This killing is a reminder to us of how much work we still need to do to eradicate bigotry and hatred towards members of the LGBT community," said West Hollywood Councilmember John Heilman.

"I am deeply saddened by the death of this young kid, who had so much life to live," said Councilmember Sal Guarriello. "This bigotry and intolerance must come to an end and parents and the entire community need to pay serious attention to discrimination and hate. All of us must speak up against these heinous crimes," he continued.

"My heartfelt condolences go out to Lawrence King's family and friends. We have to ensure that a tragedy like this will never take place again," said West Hollywood Councilmember Abbe Land. "Not a single one of us ought to be the victim of a violent crime for simply being who we are. In Lawrence's memory, we must continue to work together to prevent hate crimes and put an end to the bigotry that perpetuates them," she continued.

For more information regarding the Candlelight Vigil in Remembrance of Lawrence "Larry" King, please contact the City of West Hollywood's City Council Offices at [phone].