When Lawrence Fobes King was born his parents had plans for him. When Larry was placed in foster care, his destiny seemed tainted but still full of hope and potential. His desire to thrive outshined his surroundings and it seemed he would accomplish great things. As he moved into the seventh grade he began to understand himself and express his inner feelings. In one swift moment his hopes, his dreams, his destiny for possibilities were extinguished because someone just couldn’t grasp the true meaning of understanding and tolerance.

On the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 12, there was an ugly and bitter end to a courageous and beautiful life. Lawrence Fobes King was gunned down while sitting in his classroom because he was different. He lingered in a coma and went home to

the great beyond the following day. Exactly one month after his 15th birthday his voice was silenced forever.

King’s assailant was part of a group of school children who verbally assaulted him on a daily basis. Their mouths spewing forth the hate that was taught to them by their parents, or religious leaders, political leaders, some well-intentioned teacher or the kid next door. Somewhere somebody taught these children that it was OK to hate and to say cruel, wicked and mean things just because Larry was different. It’s possible and believable that some counselor or teacher told Larry not to let these schoolmates get him down. After all, they’re just words. He should live his life to the fullest and just ignore those rude children.

Perhaps for years Lawrence knew he was different but was too afraid to express what he was feeling. Perhaps he knew and didn’t have the proper role models that could help him. But one day he got bold and decided he would not only announce to his friends and peers that he was gay, he would also change his physical appearance to express his inner spirit.

He did have friends who supported him. Erin Mings, 12, was one of those friends.

“What he did was really brave — to wear makeup and high-heeled boots,” said Erin, who hung out with Lawrence at the school. “Every corner he turned around, people were saying, ‘Oh, my god, he's wearing makeup today.’”

Somehow his killer got the message that if another boy asks you to be his valentine, it’s OK to gun that boy down. This assailant got the idea that the way to settle the difference between them was to end Larry’s life in a violent and public assault — in the classroom for the entire world to see.

Perhaps Larry thought that he could defuse the ongoing taunting by making a pass at his would-be killer. Perhaps he envisioned having a good laugh about the days of teasing and ridicule at a distant class reunion and how he survived by asking his attacker to be his valentine.

Whatever the case may be, Larry will not graduate from college and become a doctor. He will never go fishing again. He’ll never stand on a frozen lake and feel petrified to skate around the pond one time. He will never again hold a caterpillar in his hand and wonder how long it will take before it blossoms into a butterfly. Larry King’s existence was ended and his killer will still experience the benefits of life behind bars.

There must be some way to end the violence perpetrated against the GLBT nation everyday. There is a need for legislation — but legislation will not stop 14-year-old gun-slingers in the classroom. There is a need for education — but education cannot be limited to the classroom, it must be carried into the legislature and the pulpit.

When Matthew Shepherd was viciously murdered, the outcry from the public was loud and long. It seemed that his death finally moved this progressive society into a period of living beyond tolerance and abiding in understanding. Here we are almost 10 years later, and hate still extinguishes our youngest and brightest stars long before their time.

What happened to Lawrence King isn't right. His life accomplishments should have been the brilliant point of light that we could look to and say ‘isn’t that awesome?’ But that choice has been stolen from us and we must now face the dawning of a new day with hopes that this sort of brutal violence will never happen again.

There are many lessons that we must teach. We must teach our youth how to be proud of who they are. Somewhere there is a happy medium where they can express their inner most being without fear of retribution or ignorant taunting. We must teach religious leader’s that the Bible, the Koran or the Torah do not teach hatred and to murder those who are different. We must teach our political leaders that their silence equals death. They make up the rules and set the pace. America is counting on their leadership to find a way to end the violence and make this land the democratic society the constitution promises us it should be.

What does it take? No more hate.