As a candidate for California’s 48th State Assembly district and as a student and lesbian activist, I denounce the terrible tragedy that took place on Feb. 12. This unspeakable act—the murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King of E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, Calif.—was an attack on Lawrence for simply being who he was.
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Capitalist politicians, including Democratic Party candidates, continually refuse to stand up for equality for LGBT people. They deny same-sex couples the right to marry; they deny that there is bullying within our schools and ongoing violence towards LGBT youth.
Authorities act as if imposing the maximum sentence on King’s killer will put and end to what they describe as an “isolated incident,” even though attacks on LGBT people, especially transgender people, have reached epidemic levels throughout the United States.
Putting a 15-year-old on trial as an adult is not the answer. This solution fails to look into the reasons why this young man committed this terrible act of violence.
The Party for Socialism and Liberation demands that the governor and elected representatives institute a study panel to reveal the root causes of such atrocities. We demand the immediate institution of laws that fully and completely protect the LGBT community from queer bashing.
As a community, we must take a stand against homophobia, racism and sexism—whether it happens to ourselves or others around us. We must force the government to put an end to the hatred from violent bigots aimed at LGBT people, women, people of color and immigrants.
Lawrence King and others will always remind us of the homophobia and the hate crimes that we, as a community, struggle against within the capitalist system—an unjust system based on profits rather than meeting human needs.
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Lucilla Esguerra is a Peace and Freedom Party candidate for the California’s 48th State Assembly District. She is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation. For more on her campaign, click on this link.
