A California judge ordered a psychiatric examination to determine whether or not Brandon McInerney can stand trial for allegedly shooting his gay classmate, Lawrence King, to death. [Mercury News]
Mentally Fit?
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seitan-on-a-stick
Homophobia is a mental disease so we can’t have it both ways. Nevertheless, he should be tried as an adult.
CHURCHILL-Y
No he shouldn’t. The crime he committed was horrible and he took away a precious little life, no doubt about that but why some some called progressives are cheering for more bloodshed and the destruction of another kids life is beyond me, I don’t get it……….Yes I do, hypocrisy is the only thing that guides some radicals masking as progressives, clemency and compassion only applies when it’s for one of their own whether it be political ideology or race.
This was/is a tragedy we already lost a precious soul why take away another clearly mentally disturbed one?
How is destroying the life of a kid, gonna make us safer or better? It won’t!
People who are calling for this kids head on a silver platter only want one thing, revenge, at least have some decency and admit to it.
Succotash
I don’t know where i fall on this one. On the one hand i get that Lawrence’s family must want some justice done for him. On the other i also understand the pain Brandon’s family must be going through, there will be no closure which ever way this ends up.
ron
Give him a medal for removing a future predator from society.
seitan-on-a-stick
Ron Paul is back!
JJJJ
Notice how Queerty will always show a photo if the accused homophobic murderer is Caucasian? If he’s African-American they avoid it (even when Towleroad shows it). Certainly no pic of the convicted Robert Hanna in D.C. from Queerty. “No agenda except that gay one” my ass. Don’t argue with me, just….notice.
Mr C
JJJJ,
YOU DUMB ASS Thay have showed them. But then again how many Blacks can you actually name that killed Gay people. That made the news that is.
RACIST QUEEN, Don’t bore us with your bullshit. Hopefully there will be a place in Wasilla for your ass after Nov 5.
Just notice.
That’s some of you guys fucking problem instead of focusing on the issue of hate crimes. You’d rather focus on the race of the person who did.
Just think if Hillary would have won this nomination you racist fags would be so happy.
AWWWWWWWWWWW Now we get to hear this shit from you on the computer of course………
Go Figure!
Andy
I cannot see any reason why a child should be tried as an adult. If the law makes a distinction between a child’s responsibility and an adult’s, then stick to that distinction.
Of course what he did was horrible, but there’s no need to try him as an adult when he is not one.
ajax
A. McInerny is not an adult and should not be tried as an adult. He should not face a death sentence. He should not face life in jail.
B. Regardless of his state of mind at the time of the murder, I can’t imagine that he is now emotionally stable enough to go through a trial.
C. JJJJ, did you miss the items about the former Mr. Gay UK who murdered and ate his boyfriend? They were all accompanied by a photo of his caucasian compelxion.
naprem
He is a child, and doesn’t have the full responsibility or understanding of his actions that an adult has.
And while he definitely need to be punished, shutting him away in prison for the rest of his life will destroy him just as much as executing him would. That helps no-one. He needs to spend his life learning from his mistake and making up for it, doing work which helps those he wronged. Shutting him away in a cell will only make him learn bad ways and release him as a worse person than he ever was. He’s a child – now is the time to train him to be a better person.
Oh, and his family should be in on that training in the first place, since it’s their fault for not teaching their child how to handle himself properly.
Kate
What a troubling situation . . .
Had Larry lived long enough, he may have discovered that he wasn’t gay at all, but rather he might have become a straight female (M-F trans). If he could pass and afford surgery before the male aging process started, he might have lived the balance of his days obliviously comfortable, like the rest of us.
Unfortunately, we will never know what would have happened to and for Larry.
There is the element of the lesbian school principal who supported Larry and the family who doesn’t want to acknowledge that Larry’s had the right to be who he was–instead casting blame such as “the school was responsible for allowing him to dress” in the manner most comfortable to Larry.
And then, there is Brandon. Potentially a white supremacist who lacked the self-esteem to be able to accept differences in others.
There is the larger community that allows hatred to percolate on so many levels. It seems there is plenty of blame and confusion to go around.
While we can discuss the fairness of what should happen to Brandon, elements of this may be lost in the unfairness of what happened to Larry.
As a lesbian who was not bold enough to come out in middle school in the 1970s, I applaud Larry’s self-confidence. Growing up with the notion that it is NOT ok to blame the victim, I have to look at the perpetrator.
My initial gut reaction was that he should fry. After a bit more deliberation, I do think he should be held accountable for his actions. Life in prison is more than he allowed for Larry and Brandon will likely fall victim to the sexual predators who lurk in prison. He has created the very scenario that he may have been trying to avoid by killing Larry. This speaks to me of his youth and inability to link his actions to their consequences and it softens my thinking about what should happen to him.
If you are gay or lesbian or transgendered, Larry’s story has to resonate. If you are so lacking in self-esteem that Brandon’s story speaks to you or if you have been indoctrinated with the hateful thoughts of others, I wish you peace.
If you are in a position that would allow you to foment change that would help us all embrace each of us who are different, I beg you to take appropriate action and stand by your convictions. This is the expectation I have of myself.
If you are a young person who is exploring your sexuality, learn to love who you are without reservation. If you are sexually active, play safe so we can enjoy you as a member of our community for years to come. Do what it takes so you can enjoy a full and productive life as the person you really are.
If you are the parent or guardian of a child who is different, for whatever reason, question your own beliefs so that you can responsibly parent your child.
At the end of the day, one more different child is dead and another, different child, has a long road ahead of him. The outcome of this will not likely affect my life at all. The way we, collectively, talk about this situation and the outcome, will affect us all for years to come.
12
Well, it’s obvious why Churchill-y doesn’t believe that the kid should be tried as an adult – he’s white! If Larry had been white and Brandon were black, good ol’ Churchill-y would want Brandon’s head on a platter.