Hundreds of teenagers marched Saturday to honor Southern Californian Lawrence King, a 15-year-old killed in school in an alleged gay hate crime.

The march in Oxnard in memory of Lawrence King was organized by two teenagers who, like police and officials, said were surprised by the number of people who showed up, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"We were expecting maybe 100 or 200 people," said Courtney LaForest, 16, as she looked at the "peace circle" of marchers in Plaza Park. "This is incredible."

It is a horrific reminder that harassment of and violence toward gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming students is still a serious problem in schools across the country and it starts at younger ages than most adults realize.

LaForest, a student at Hueneme High School, did not know King. King and his alleged killer, Brandon McInerney, were students at E.O. Green Middle School.

LaForest said she wanted to make a statement that the killing that has destroyed the lives of two teens. Classmates have said that King recently came out as gay, upsetting some other boys, including McInerney.

"We are saying you don't need to accept people who are gay, but you should tolerate them," LaForest said.

King died Thursday after being taken off life support. McInerney, 14, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement.

Media Statement by Debra Chasnoff, GroundSpark Executive Director:

"The murder of Lawrence King, a 15-year-old openly gay student at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard, CA, is a terrible tragedy. It is a horrific reminder that harassment of and violence toward gay, lesbian and gender non-conforming students is still a serious problem in schools across the country and it starts at younger ages than most adults realize. We wish we could say we've come a long way since 1998 when Matthew Shepard was murdered when he was in college just because he was gay. But now, similarly-motivated hate crimes are occurring in middle schools.

Today, we mourn the loss of this young student and extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends. We also commit ourselves to redoubling our efforts to prevent tragedies like this from ever occurring again. One of the most important things we can do is support educators and parents to pro-actively help young students cultivate understanding and compassion for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender expression.

Ten years ago we released the educational documentary It's Elementary-Talking About Gay Issues in School and it helped spark a
movement to make schools safer places for all children by encouraging K-8 teachers to weave respectful information about LGBT people into their lesson plans. Ironically, this week we are re-releasing this film because it's time for a new generation of teachers to get on board to ensure that their schools and classrooms are safe for all students, including those like Lawrence King who don't fit neatly in a box of the stereotype of how boys are supposed to be. We call on all educators in California, and across the nation, to recognize the seriousness of anti-gay bullying and take appropriate steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all their students."

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