The cover of
issue 1005 of The Advocate featured a dithered
black-and-white photo of Larry King with the headline
"Who's to blame?" The cover story begins on page 28 of that
issue with the lead quote, "15-year-old Lawrence King
was encouraged to be himself. Did that lesson help
send him to his grave?" In a brazenly sensationalist
attempt to sell magazines, The Advocate sent a
chilling and offensive message one might hear from
Fred Phelps: Stay closeted or die! There's one
person to blame for Larry King's murder: Brandon McInerney,
the classmate who shot him. To even whisper the idea
that encouraging someone to come out is a factor in
murder is absurd; it's like blaming 9/11 on travel
agents who "encouraged" people to fly that day. Anne
Stockwell, editor in chief of The Advocate,
owes the magazine's readership an apology and a resignation
for having not only green-lighted the story, but
featuring it on this issue's cover.