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Larry King's Family Sues School District for Damages

The family of slain teenager Larry King is suing the Hueneme School District and Ventura County for letting their son wear makeup and feminine clothing, the Ventura County Star is reporting. Parents Dawn and Gregory King and Larry's younger brother, Rocky, have filed injury claims related to the death of the eighth-grader, alleging that the California school's failure to enforce the dress code made Larry King vulnerable to attack.


The family of slain teenager Larry King is suing the Hueneme School District and Ventura County for letting their son wear makeup and feminine clothing, the Ventura County Star is reporting.

Parents Dawn and Gregory King and Larry's younger brother, Rocky, have filed injury claims related to the death of the eighth-grader, alleging that the California school's failure to enforce the dress code made Larry King vulnerable to attack.

King, 15, was shot at E.O. Green Junior High School in February in front of a classroom full of kids. Fellow classmate Brandon McInerney, 14, has been charged as an adult in the fatal shooting and entered a not guilty plea last week. McInerney also faces charges for committing a hate crime.

King was under the court's guardianship at the time of the shooting and was living at a shelter for abused, neglected, and troubled children.

The claims were filed last Friday, according to the Star, just under the six-month deadline for plaintiffs to file claims against public agencies. (The Advocate)

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Reader Comments
  • Name: michael
    Date posted: 8/19/2008 5:18:00 PM
    Hometown: oakland

    Comment:

    i think his parents just want the money. it's not the school's fault that he got shot, not in that way. i'd rather sue them for letting a kid on campus with a gun. the school could never have predicted that a failure to enforce a dress code would lead to a child getting shot. nor did it, he was shot for other reasons.

  • Name: Brian
    Date posted: 8/18/2008 6:26:00 PM
    Hometown: Chicago

    Comment:

    Call me crazy, or whatever. But the Kings should really be going after the "parents" of the piece of human waste that killed their son.....NOT THE FRIGGIN' SCHOOL over some stupid dress code!! Are these people really THAT dense?!?!? Give me a break!!!!

  • Name: Homer
    Date posted: 8/18/2008 4:05:00 PM
    Hometown: Boston, Mass

    Comment:

    I hope these parents get put in jail for not trying to help there own child that god gave to them. This reminds me of a case many years ago when parents would put there kids in REFORM SCHOOLS a place for those that have committed a crime. There are so many cases where parents just put there kids out in the street and I have seen heard parents say "You have to go it's you are my husband." I have had so many of them say this to me and the child. And now these jerks want to sue I hope they get the slammer with big bubber.

  • Name: frenchjr25
    Date posted: 8/15/2008 7:26:00 PM
    Hometown: San Francisco

    Comment:

    Obviously the parents are homophobic and are probably extremely abusive people. And it is clear that Larry was not in drag, he was just expressing his gender identity. Not every guy that wears make-up is in drag. And do they have a place to sue seeing they were not his legal guardians at the time of his murder? I really feel sorry for Brandon. Obviously he grew up in an extremely hateful and homophobic environment. Now he will probably spend decades in prison for something that he is not fully responsible for. His parents should also be charged along with the school. Every adult in this case failed both teens.

  • Name: mike
    Date posted: 8/15/2008 7:23:00 PM
    Hometown: boston

    Comment:

    This is just wrong. Larry was in a shelter for abandoned children. NOW his parents care about him? Where were they when he was alive? Oh... he wasn't a meal ticket for them alive. Also, if the school had sent him home, not allowing him to wear what he wanted to, I bet the parents would have sued the school claiming it was prohibiting Larry from expressing himself. Poor Larry. May he be at peace.

  • Name: Bartholemieux Andrwes
    Date posted: 8/15/2008 4:56:00 PM
    Hometown: Salem, MA

    Comment:

    This case is yet ANOTHER example of abandonment of personal responsibility! I do believe it is the responsibility of the school to ensure safety of the children, but when it come to what a child wears to school, THAT is the responsibility of the parent whether the child is gay, straight, cross gendered, whatever!

  • Name: Moondancer Drake
    Date posted: 8/15/2008 4:44:00 PM
    Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

    Comment:

    And folks may wonder why Larry King was a ward of the courts with a family of vultures like that. If the family really wanted to make an impact they’d be fighting for more sensitivity training in the schools to combat hate rather than suing for money. This whole thing feels akin to digging through a dead relative’s pockets for loose change at this point rather than a family seeing justice.

  • Name: Scott
    Date posted: 8/15/2008 2:43:00 PM
    Hometown: Tallahassee

    Comment:

    What a ridiculous notion! This is yet another frivolous lawsuit clogging the court system. The responsibility for what Larry wore to school is that of the parents. Especially when the issue was as potentially derisive as a 15 year old wearing drag. The family seemingly is seeking to profit from this sad event.

  • Name: Robert
    Date posted: 8/15/2008 1:20:00 PM
    Hometown: Jacksoneville NC

    Comment:

    Now that's kinda messed up.Its not the schools responsibility to dress its students, its the parents. They should be suing the school for its lack of security and education, not because of its dress code...If they really felt that it wasn't wise letting there son going around in drag they have the authority as parents to step in. I know it sucks- and that is an encroaching on there sons identity, but until he was 18 they had that right to do so, just like they had the right to deny him tattoos, piercings and drugs. This wont help bring him back- or make any other kids like him any safer....



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