A week after the shooting death of gay teenager Lawrence King in an Oxnard junior high school in Southern California, a vigil was held at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center Tuesday, February 19 to remember the young man.

King, 15, was allegedly shot by a fellow student, who has been identified as Brandon McInerney, 14. McInerney has been charged with premeditated murder with a special allegation of a hate crime. The Los Angeles Times reported that he will be tried as an adult. McInerney, whose bail is set at $770,000, remains in custody at Ventura County Juvenile Hall.

According to media reports, King took his seat in the computer lab of E.O. Green Junior High School in Oxnard, Tuesday, February 12. At approximately 8:30 a.m., two gunshots were fired into the back of his head, ending his life. He was kept on life support in order to have his organs donated, and removed from life support several days later.

King self-identified as gay and sometimes wore make-up and feminine jewelry to school, his friends reported to the Associated Press. This expression of his sexuality and gender identity painted hi

Lawrence King in an undated photo

m a visible target for bullying and ridicule from some of his classmates, they said. However, no reports of bullying prevention by the school were recorded, according to a statement issued by the Gay-Straight Alliance Network.

A California law passed in 2000 was designed to shelter students from harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but this law is not always enforced.

"The sad reality is that even with these protections, violence against gay and gender non-conforming students happens all too often," said Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center.

"With young people coming out at younger ages, our schools – especially our junior highs and middle schools – need to be proactive about teaching respect for diversity based on sexual orientation and gender identity," said Carolyn Laub, executive director of Gay-Straight Alliance Network. "The tragic death of Lawrence King is a wake-up call for our schools to better protect students from harassment at school."

But despite his violent end, King's death has elicited a feeling of concern rather than rancor amongst the straight and LGBT community. The Times reported that nearly 1,000 Oxnard youth and other supporters marched in a tribute to King last Saturday.

"People in Ventura County are hurt – not angry, but hurt," said Jay Smith, the executive director of the Rainbow Alliance. "Parents are concerned that the schools aren't safe. Parents are concerned that there are guns in schools. Parents are concerned that a seemingly normal student could do something like this."

King's death has sparked vigils in several cities and reinvigorated the sense that action must be taken to combat prejudice everywhere it's met, said Kristina Wertz, legal director of the Transgender Law Center, at a vigil held Tuesday at the community center.

Also attending the San Francisco vigil was Yavante M. Thomas-Guess, a transgender community advocate who remembers being bullied during middle school while still living as a woman.

"The public needs to know [King's] story because he had a life before death," he said. "And that needs to be told."