WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Lois Capps regards Oxnard student Larry King's slaying as a tragic symbol of the need for a national discussion on the harassment faced by gay and lesbian young people.

"We need to find ways to communicate with young people about acceptance and tolerance," she said.

To help facilitate the discussion, the Santa Barbara Democrat last week became one of the founding members of a congressional caucus that will focus on gay and lesbian equality.

Capps, who represents the 23rd District, has been a longtime supporter of gay rights issues and equality, so she readily agreed to sign on as vice chairwoman of the new Congressional Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality Caucus.

The caucus consists of 62 House members and is chaired by the only two openly gay members of Congress: Reps. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

Sixteen of the caucus members are from California.

All of the group's members are Democrats, except for Republicans Christopher Shays of Connecticut and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida.

The group's mission is to extend equal rights, repeal discriminatory laws, eliminate hate-motivated violence, and improve the health and well-being of everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The timing could not have been better, Capps said, given that starting next week, same-sex couples in California will be allowed to legally marry, making the state only the second one in the nation to allow gay nuptials.

Capps said her reasons for getting involved in the caucus were underscored by the shooting death of King, 15, who lived in her congressional district.

King, an eighth-grader who sometimes dressed flamboyantly and wore dramatic makeup, was shot in February in a computer lab at E.O. Green Middle School in Oxnard.

Classmate Brandon McInerney, 14, has been charged with first-degree murder and committing a hate crime.

Students say that King was teased because he was gay and that he had a confrontation with McInerney in the days before the shooting.

Capps said she hopes to use the caucus to call attention to the harassment faced by King and other young people who are perceived to be gay.

She said she intends to urge the caucus to hold a hearing on school bullying and how it can eventually lead to hate crimes.

"I've always been concerned about young people and the impacts of prejudice on young people and how prejudice gets formed at an early age," Capps said.

"Sometimes we don't see it until tragedies occur. Sometimes they occur at older ages, but the seeds were planted early on."

In elementary or middle schools, where gender identity is seldom discussed, bullying or anti-gay harassment can really isolate the students who are picked on, Capps said.

'Children deserve acceptance'

All lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, and particularly young people, "should be able to take heart in who they are and in who they aspire to be without fear of physical harm or discrimination," she said.

"And certainly all of our children deserve acceptance and happiness."

Formation of a gay and lesbian congressional caucus is a good way to encourage such a discussion, said Jay Smith, executive director of the Ventura County Rainbow Alliance, a gay rights group.

"Nobody else is talking about it," Smith said.

"They dance around lesbian and gay issues all the time. To have a caucus made up of some lesbian and gay individuals as well as supporters of LGBT issues I think it's incredibly important and necessary. This is a tremendous first step.''

While Capps has always been a supporter of equality and gay rights, "many people, when you talk about diversity and you talk about our children, are so afraid or ignorant about LGBT-specific issues," Smith said.

"There's a sense that if we talk about these, we are forwarding an agenda. Of course, it's not about that at all. It's about educating people and bringing them on board with a message of equality for our kids in schools. It's creating dialogue, and that is a first great step."

Capps said she expects the caucus' work to result in legislation.

However, part of the group's job will be to serve as a resource for other members of Congress and to educate them about issues important to gays and lesbians, she said.

Building for the future

Capps said she also sees the caucus as a way for lawmakers to begin building for the future, when a new Congress and new president take office after the November elections.

Hate-crime legislation and a proposal to ban anti-gay discrimination in the workforce could finally become law if Democrats win the presidency and increase their majorities in the House and Senate, Capps said.

While Capps hopes that Barack Obama will be the next president, "any administration is going to be more positive (on gay issues) than the one we have now," she said.

###