‘We still teach hate,’ says mother of murdered gay man
GARY — Judy Shepard doesn’t forgive the men who killed her son, but she doesn’t blame them, either.
Shepard, at Indiana University Northwest on Wednesday night to talk about the torture and murder of her son, Matthew Shepard, said she gets “the forgiveness question” a lot when she talks to groups.
Mostly, she’s just confused by the thought, but what she knows for sure is that the two men who brutally murdered Matthew — Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, who are serving life sentences — weren’t taught any better.
Thus, Shepard has made it her mission in the almost 10 years since his death to teach everyone possible that hate is a learned behavior that needs to be stopped.
“We still teach hate; it has to be a conscious decision to not go there,” said Shepard, invited to speak by IUN’s Center for Regional Excellence and Merrillville High School’s Socially Together and Naturally Diverse organization.
At times comical, Shepard described her home state of Wyoming as “not a hateful place at all,” but it is 96 percent white, with the rest of the 500,000-resident population either Native American or Latino. Even after the murder, Wyoming still hasn’t passed hate-crime legislation that includes lesbian, gay, bisexual or transsexual specifics, though Laramie, where the murder took place, has an ordinance against it.
Indiana also doesn’t have hate-crime legislation specific to the LGBT community, either, and she pointed out it likely won’t happen until something is passed at the federal level. Nevertheless, she remains hopeful. See ‘We still teach hate,’ says mother of murdered gay man
Gary Post Tribune -* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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2 little 2 late? Rep. Foxx Sends Apology Letter To Matthew Shephard’s Mother
U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx has written a letter of apology to the mother of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming man whose name is on a bill adding sexual orientation to federal hate-crimes legislation.
During recent debate on the bill, Foxx, R-5th, called attempts to label Shepard’s 1998 murder a hate crime “a hoax.” She said that he was killed during a robbery and not because he was gay.
Shepard, 21, was robbed, beaten and left to die on a prairie fence near Laramie, Wyo., in 1998. Two men pleaded guilty to killing him and testified that they singled him out because he was gay.
Foxx’s remarks caused an uproar, and she later issued a statement saying that her use of “hoax” was “a poor choice of words.”
See Virginia Foxx Sends Apology Letter To Matthew Shephard’s Mother
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Bigoted GOP Rep blames ABC News For Calling Matt’s Death a “Hoax”
For the second night in a row, Countdown’s Keith Olbermann has blasted North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx as the Worst Person in the World.
Last night she won for saying on the floor of the house:
“We know that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay,” Foxx said during debate. “The bill was named for him, the hate-crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”
Shepard died several days after he was found tied to a remote fence in Wyoming, severely beaten and robbed of $20. Prosecutors said he was lured from a bar by two men, including one whose defense attorney said reacted violently after Shepard made a sexual advance.
Tonight Keith told Foxx to “apologize sincerely” To MAtt’s Mom - who was sitting in the gallery of the house when Fox spoke - or resign her seat in the US House of Representatives.
Who knew such bigotry as Foxx’s was alive and well in the Winston-Salem area of North Carolina?
Check out the video here.
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Wyoming murder “really a hoax,” congresswoman
As Congress approved legislation to expand the legal application of hate crimes, cosponsor Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., proclaimed on Wednesday that “We have
declared America to be a hate-free zone.”
It may not be that easy.
During debate on the legislation, a Republican congresswoman from North Carolina questioned the decade-old Laramie, Wyoming murder that galvanized a national drive to impose penalties on hate-driven crimes.
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., used the word “hoax” to describe the killing of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man who was tied crucifixion-style to a fence, repeatedly pistol whipped and left for dead. He later died in a local hospital.
“. . . We know that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery,” Foxx told the House. “It wasn’t because he was gay This — the bill was named for him, (the) hate crime bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”
The “hoax” argument is directly contradicted by court testimony by girlfriends of the two men who murdered Shepard. Both girlfriends testified that the killers set out to find and rob a gay man. They befriended Shepard in a bar. The slight Shepard asked them to give him a ride home.
Foxx was not alone in her heavy prose. “Pedophiles and other bizarre sex orientations given protection by Congress,” headlined a release by the Traditional Values Coalition.
The legislation extends to women, gays and the disabled provisions of America’s existing hate crimes law. The law already singles out for special punishment violent crime based on race, religion and/or national origin of the victim.
Asked about Rep. Foxx’s “hoax” allegation, McDermott replied with a Latin maxim: “Res ipsa loquiter.” Translated, it means: The matter speaks for itself.
See Wyoming murder “really a hoax,” congresswoman Seattle Post Intelligencer
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WATCH GOP Rep: Story of Matthew Shepard’s Murder A “Hoax”
As the House of Representatives debates an expansion of hate crimes legislation, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has taken the rhetoric to a new level, claiming that those who say Matthew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming for being gay are perpetrating a “hoax” on the American people.
“I also would like to point out that there was a bill — the hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This — the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills,” said Foxx.
A Foxx spokesman didn’t immediately return a call. The Matthew Shepard “hoax” notion is a popular meme on right-wing blogs.
The Matthew Shepard Foundation is dedicated to reducing hate crimes.
The New York Times reported in 1998: “According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious.”
“She should be ashamed,” said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), himself a victim of a hate crime during the struggle for civil rights. “That is unreal, unbelievable. The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay.”
WATCH GOP Rep: Story of Matthew Shepard’s Murder A “Hoax”
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Wyoming to recognize out-of-state gay marriages
Wyoming has elected to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states–but, so far, Colorado does not. Our conservative neighbor-to-the-north is suddenly more liberal than we are? I never thought I’d say it, but we need to catch up with Wyoming.
And here’s an amazing factoid that I wasn’t aware of until I looked it up: In addition to being “The Cowboy State,” Wyoming is nicknamed “The Equality State,” and the state motto is “Equal Rights.” Umm, I know some gay and lesbian Wyomingites who might not agree, but the decision to recognize same-sex marriages from other states goes a long way toward making that slogan a reality.
See Wyoming to recognize out-of-state gay marriages
Examiner.com
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Anti-gay group headed to Plattsburgh again
PLATTSBURGH — Controversial anti-gay church leader Fred Phelps and his followers are planning another visit to Plattsburgh.
Phelps and crew are planning to picket at Plattsburgh High School and Plattsburgh State Friday, March 6, for 40 to 45 minutes at each site.
The anti-gay members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, are protesting the High School’s Gay/Straight Alliance and a performance of the play “The Laramie Project” at the college.
“The Laramie Project” depicts the story of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man from Wyoming who was killed in 1998 because of his sexuality. See Anti-gay group headed to Plattsburgh again
Plattsburgh Press Republican, NY
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Wyoming House kills gay marriage bill
The Wyoming House of Representatives voted down a bill on Friday that would have allowed state voters to decide whether to amend the state constitution to deny state recognition of same-sex marriages.
Supporters of the “Defense of Marriage Act” argued that passing it was necessary to reconcile conflicting state laws. But opponents said the bill was an assault on the rights of Wyoming gays and lesbians.
See Wyoming House kills gay marriage bill
Hays Daily News, KS -
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Mormons take lead on ’social’ bills
CHEYENNE — Mormons comprise more than 10 percent of the membership of the Wyoming Legislature, yet Mormon lawmakers are not known for voting as a bloc or working together to promote legislation.
That may be changing.
Mormons are taking a higher profile this session in promoting bills linked to controversial social issues including assisted suicide, gay marriage and abortion.
Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are the primary sponsors of bills dealing with all three topics, and a cadre of about eight LDS lawmakers have teamed up as the original co-sponsors of six related bills.
Members of that group say their collective support of the bills is more coincidence than strategy, and they insist that no Mormon caucus exists in the Legislature.
But watchdog and social-issue advocacy groups say it could be a troubling sign if LDS legislators are working to inject their religious beliefs into the lawmaking process.
See Mormons take lead on ’social’ bills
.Casper Star-Tribune Online - Casper,WY,USA
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Focus Action lobbies in Wyoming on gay marriage
A Colorado-based evangelical group has launched a telephone lobbying campaign trying to influence a gay-marriage bill in Wyoming. Focus on the Family Action of Colorado Springs has been making telephone calls to voters in key Wyoming senate districts. he group is trying to drum up support for legislation that would let Wyoming voters decide whether to amend the state constitution to specify that the state won’t recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. See Focus Action lobbies in Wyoming on gay marriage
KRDO - Colorado Springs,CO,USA
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