On the morning of February 12, 2008, Lawrence King, an openly gay high school student in Oxnard, California, was shot to death by a schoolmate in a classroom.

It was one of several hate-motivated murders of young people that shocked the US over the last 12 years, the most famous of which was Matthew Shepard, the Wyoming college student who was beaten to death in 1998.

Last year the US Government passed a law with his name to better protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from crimes motivated by their sexual orientation.

Trinidad and Tobago has not had high-profile cases of gay bias crimes, but LGBT activists have reported that members of their community have been the targets of violent attacks and they believe a handful of murders over the past few years were because the victims were gay.

Often gay victims of attack are afraid to report it because they fear public exposure or even harassment from police. This fear makes them easier targets. Research has found LGBT teens and young people were more likely to be bullied than their straight counterparts.

This is no way to live, for any of us.

There are some who believe - usually for religious reasons - that sex between two people of the same gender is wrong, and they are free to have that opinion. And that's exactly the point - they are free.

Someone's opinion of how they chose to live their life is no justification for harassment of any sort. Because today it could be one group of people, tomorrow it could be another, and you may find yourself on the receiving end.

Everyone's right to be who they are and express themselves as they see fit - once it doesn't infringe on someone else's freedom - should be protected.

To illustrate: you may not agree with atheism, but you could agree that it's wrong to shout obscenities at atheists on the street or threaten them with violence.

You may not agree with sex outside of marriage, but you could agree that it's wrong to shout obscenities at unmarried couples on the street or threaten them with violence.

You might not agree with women - or men - who wear tight clothing, but you could agree that it's wrong to shout obscenities at them on the street or threaten them with violence.

It seems to us there are better ways to engage people with whom one disagrees: Invite them to church, for instance, or to have a civil conversation. That kind of gentler interaction is better for all of us.

Further, the time has come for the Ministry of Education to act with dispatch to protect students like the boy featured on page 16 of this very issue.

Not enough, it seems, is being done to educate all students about tolerance and acceptance. Not enough teachers appear to be adequately trained to deal with gay students. The subject is taboo, so it appears the preferred option is not to treat with it at all.

We feel strongly that to leave the issue alone, is to expose these students to abuse at the hands of some of their peers and yes, at the hands of some teachers too.

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