Tomorrow is the National Day of Silence, and this year's observance is a memorial to the life and tragic death of Lawrence King:

"The National Day of Silence brings attention to anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment in schools. This year’s event will be held in memory of Lawrence King, a California 8th-grader who was shot and killed Feb. 12 by a classmate because of his sexual orientation and gender expression. Hundreds of thousands of students will come together on April 25 to encourage schools and classmates to address the problem of anti-LGBT behavior."

After the break, you can see the Day of Silence PSA from Lance Bass.

While nothing can bring gay teen Lawrence “Larry” King back to life, his murder at the hands of a fellow junior high student brought to light the mostly ignored subject of the violent bullying often endured by kids who don’t fit in at school. Given that gender expression and sexual orientation were key elements that made Larry different from his peers, it makes perfect sense for The Advocate to address the story at length, which it does in its April 8 cover story by Neal Broverman, "Who’s to Blame?”

What at first seems like a broad rhetorical question on the cover unfortunately takes a literal turn as the writer searches high and low for scapegoats other than Larry's murderer, including the group home where Larry lived, LGBT advocates, “society,” and even Larry himself.

Casa Pacifica, the group home for abused, neglected, and emotionally troubled children where Larry lived, is blamed for somehow being a safe haven where he was “encouraged to dress as he pleased and live as the person he wanted to be.”

Broverman states that ”(i)t may be beyond the capacity of kids to reconcile a tolerant atmosphere like Casa Pacifica with the xenophobic, conformist nature of school.”

LGBT advocates, particularly the National Center for Lesbian Rights, are also blamed for their “Know Your Rights Guide” and “Queer and Trans Youth in California Foster Care Have Rights!” pamphlet, provided to all LGBT children at the Larry’s foster care facility. The author highlights many of these rights, like safe bathrooms and “the right for kids to wear clothes and hairstyles that fit their gender identity.”

These rights, and even “an illustration of a teenager in overalls and high heels” (pictured above) in one of the guides, are presented as dangerous freedoms taken “to heart in the last weeks of (Larry’s) life.”

Does anyone believe that an illustration and exposure to legal rights are responsible for Larry’s death?

Michael Stipe: He's here, he's queer ... he's on TV!

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• The very gay Michael Stipe is still gay, and he and his confirmed not-gay R.E.M. bandmates performed on The Today Show this morning.

• Wait, they do April Fool's in England? Eminem reported set to play Elton John in upcoming biopic. As if.

• Speaking of April Fool's pranks, while our article about Katie Heigl splitting with BFF T.R. Knight was a gag, the story about Kylie Minogue divorcing her gay bestie may not be.

• AfterElton Hot 100-er and ABC go-to guest Eddie Cibrian will be guesting on Ugly Betty. Not that we get excited about that kind of OMGOMGOMGHOTTESTTHINGEVAARRRR ... ahem ... thing.

• The Advocate published a petition letter complaining about their positioning of the Lawrence King murder in an article called "Mixed Messages", which asked if we gays led Lawrence to doom by encouraging him to be out and proud.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...

In the wake of the tragic murder of Lawrence King, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and LOGO (AfterELton.com's parent company) have enlisted the support of a number of celebrities to film a PSA urging people to "stop the hate" and ensure the safety of ALL students in our schools.

Participating in the public service announcement are T.R. Knight, Portia de Rossi, Janet Jackson and many others. Let's hope the loss of Lawrence leads to the prevention of this happening again.

Ellen is opening today's show with a monologue about changing this country's attitudes in the wake of the tragic murder of 15-year-old Lawrence King. Ellen begins by explaining that Lawrence's killer shot him because days earlier his gay classmate had given him a valentine, which led the young man to murder him.

Ellen's discussing the topic on a personal level is incredibly moving and very powerful. As she puts it:

 "Larry was not a second-class citizen. I am not a second-class citizen. It is okay if you're gay."

Ellen goes further to say that we need to put an end to gay punchlines in monologues and in movies, and that mean-spirited jokes lead to hateful behavior and violence. Seeing someone speak with this degree of passion and intelligence and empathy about this issue on national television and receive such overwhelming support from her audience is incredibly inspiring. Ellen continues to be one of the strongest and most uncompromised voices out there for lesbians and gays, and moments like this are why.

Check out the video here, or tune into her show today. 

AfterElton Hot 100 vet David Beckham plays peek-a-boo at a Seoul press conference

In a continued effort to bring you all that is important in the world of gay entertainment and ensure that you are being spoon-fed images of gorgeous, commoditized manflesh, we present the newly-minted AfterElton Briefs. Following the usual assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.

• Why did no one tell me that there was a new episode of Planet Unicorn?! In fine PU form, it's a Christmas episode ... in February. This is your brain on drugs, kids.

• This fella is liveblogging (kinda) the Pink Flight to Sydney Mardi Gras. The updates stopped when he got on the plane, so either he couldn't get online or he had one too many pink martinis and blacked out in the lavatory.

• Anderson Cooper covered the murder of gay teen Lawrence King on his show, but unfortunately the CNN podcast elected to cut that segment in favor of a singing kid in underwear.

• A big happy birthday to Elizabeth Taylor. The legendary actress and tireless AIDS research supporter turns 76 today. 
  

• I know this is awful, but this guy freaking out on Scare Tactics at the "genetically altered rat-boy" is still one of the funniest things ever to air on television.

• Vanessa Williams was given the HRC Equality Award over the weekend, and gave a lovely acceptance speech. Even better, it was presented to her by Becki Newton (Ugly Betty's wonderfully evil Amanda) and Nessie dropped some great UB references and told some great stories about her own growing up with gay colleagues and friends along the way.

And today's Briefs are brought to you by...