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Matthew Shepard was the victim of a savage anti-gay hate crime the night of 6 October 1998. At 12:53 AM on 12 October 1998, he died. Matt was 'family' in Denver one of the years I lived in the Denver metro area. His life left a deep but lasting mark on me and his soft, gentle smile from the last time I saw him will always be with me. Read statements from: The Shepards • President
Clinton • Human Rights Campaign • Others |
"First of all, we want to thank the American public for their kind thoughts about Matthew and their fond wishes for his speedy recovery. We appreciate your prayers and good will, and we know they are something Matthew would appreciate, too.
"Matthew is a very special person, and everyone can learn important lessons from his life. All of us who know Matthew see him as he is, a very kind and gentle soul. He is a strong believer in humanity and human rights. He is a trusting person who takes everybody at face value and he does not see the bad side of anyone.
"His one intolerance is when people don't accept others as they are. He has always strongly felt that all people are the same -- regardless of their sexual preference, race or religion.
"We know he believes that all of us are part of the same family called Humanity, and each and everyone of us should treat all people with respect and dignity, and that each of us has the right to live a full and rewarding life. That is one lesson which we are very certain he would share with you, if he could.
"Matthew also feels strongly about family. He is a loving son, brother and grandson who has made our own lives much richer and fuller than what we would have experienced without him.
"Matthew's life has often been a struggle in one way or another. He was born prematurely, and he struggled to survive as an infant. He is physically short in stature but we believe he is a giant when it comes to respecting the worth of others. We know that he thinks if he can make one person's life better in this world, then he has succeeded. That is a measure of success which Matthew has always pursued.
"Matthew very much enjoys the outdoors and camping, and he has always loved acting in the theater -- he started acting in community theater at the age of 5. Acting and the theater arts are skills at which Matthew excels.
"He knows he's not the best athlete in the world but he has a very competitive spirit. One time he participated in the Wyoming State Games. He had a respectable finish in a running competition and then he decided to compete in a swimming event. He did this even though he knew he would likely finish last. Which he did. Afterwards, he acknowledged that he knew his chances of winning were far from good but he wasn't going to let that stop him from trying. That's Matthew's lesson for all of us -- its lesson that we hope everyone takes to heart.
"Matthew has traveled all over the world. He speaks three languages: English, German and Italian. He loves Europe, but he also loves Laramie and the University of Wyoming. We feel that, if he was giving this statement himself, he would emphasize he does not want the horrible actions of a few very disturbed individuals to mar the fine reputations of Laramie or the university.
"Finally, we would like to thank the sheriffs' department of Albany County, Wyoming, and Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins for their very professional efforts on Matthew's behalf.
"We also have a special request for the members of the media. Matthew is very much in need of his family at this time, and we ask that you respect our privacy, as well as Matthew's so we can concentrate all of our efforts, thoughts and love on our son.
"Thank you very much."
"Hateful rhetoric fosters a fearful and intolerant environment - all the ingredients necessary for putting people in harm's way. What Matt Shepard is going through is unthinkable. That there are people who hate him for being open and honest about his life is unconscionable." -- Joan M. Garry, GLAAD Executive Director
"We are outraged and sickened by this attack performed by a group of cowards. How long does the brutality have to go on until Congress sends the message that this type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our society?" -- Winnie Stachelberg, Human Rights Campaign Political Director
"Anti-gay rhetoric and anti-gay violence go hand-in-hand. The right wing is creating the most hostile atmospheres for GLBT people in recent memory. Hate violence is a logical extension of these rhetorical, legislative, and electoral attacks. When anti-gay rhetoric escalates, so does anti-gay violence. Hate crimes are a result of that intolerance. No one should condone violence against any group of people, nor should they contribute to an atmosphere that fosters such intolerance and violence." -- Tracey Conaty, NGLTF communications director
"Once again, there will be a chorus screaming ‘special rights’ when the subject of gay bashing being punished as a hate crime arises. But near as anybody can tell, the opportunity to be threatened, humiliated and to live in fear of being beaten to death is the only ‘special right’ our culture bestows on homosexuals.... If you listened to the opponents of laws designating gay bashing as a hate crime, you'd think there really was some fundamental difference between being a black man, who is beaten and dragged behind a truck, and being a gay man, who is beaten, his skull crushed, and left tied to a fence to die. The only real difference is the epithet the killers use to describe the victim. The one used for the black man is considered an obscenity so appallingly offensive, it can't be printed in most newspapers. The one used for the gay man is a common expression. It's familiar in comedy routines, on elementary school playgrounds and on street corners all across America." -- Diane Carman, Denver Post columnist
"Matt is pro-human. Matt would want something to happen so people would not be attacked like this." -- Phil LaBrie, a friend of Matt's
"I was deeply grieved by the act of violence perpetrated against Matthew Shepard of Wyoming.
"The Justice Department has assured me that local law enforcement officials are proceeding diligently to bring those responsible to justice. And I am determined that we will do everything we can and offer whatever assistance is appropriate.
"Hillary and I ask that your thoughts and your prayers be with Mr. Shepard and his family, and with the people of Laramie, Wyoming. In the face of this terrible act of violence, they are joining together to demonstrate that an act of evil like this is not what our country is all about. In fact it strikes at the very heart of what it means to be an American and at the values that define us as a Nation. We must all reaffirm that we will not tolerate this.
"Just this year there have been a number of recent tragedies across our country that involve hate crimes. The vicious murder of James Byrd last June in Jasper, Texas and the assault this week on Mr. Shepard are only among the most horrifying examples.
"Almost one year ago I proposed that Congress enact the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Our Federal laws already punish some crimes committed against people on the basis of race or religion or national origin, but we should do more. This crucial legislation would strengthen and expand the ability of the Justice Department to prosecute hate crimes by removing needless jurisdictional requirements for existing crimes and by giving Federal prosecutors the power to prosecute hate crimes committed because of the victim's sexual orientation, gender, or disability. All Americans deserve protection from hate.
"There is nothing more important to the future of this country than our standing together against intolerance, prejudice, and violent bigotry. It is not too late for Congress to take action before they adjourn and pass The Hate Crimes Prevention Act. By doing so they will help make all Americans more safe and secure."
[Mills is the Education Director of the Human Rights Campaign.]
"The savage beating and burning of Matthew Shepard did not occur in a vacuum. Crimes such as these arise out of minds twisted and misinformed about lesbian and gay people. Crimes such as these are not isolated -- unfortunately. At the Human Rights Campaign, we learn weekly, if not daily, of terrible acts committed against our fellow citizens merely because they are gay -- or even because they are perceived to be gay or lesbian.
"Right now, we are living through a period of extreme and concentrated anti-gay backlash. The leaders of the most powerful religious political organizations … have made a strategic political decision to target gays and lesbians. These groups include Focus on the Family and its political offshoot, the Family Research Council; the Christian Coalition; Coral Ridge Ministries; and a host of others.
"Make no mistake; this campaign against gay people is not about religion or redemption or any of those other ‘spiritual’ terms they might use in their advertising or public relations. They are looking for wedge issues that will help them elect more staunch religious political conservatives at all levels of government. If this were truly a religious campaign, why did these men and women go to Capitol Hill last spring and meet with the Republican leaders of the House and Senate? Why did they threaten our national leaders with a loss of support if they refused to follow the ultra-conservative religious political agenda? And they were successful. Shortly after their meeting on Capitol Hill, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott went on television to say gay people are sinners and that we are sick. He likened us to alcoholics, sex addicts and kleptomaniacs.
"Just this week, in Washington, D.C., these same religious political activist groups unveiled a television advertising campaign purporting to offer people a way out of homosexuality through prayer. This comes on the heels of a national newspaper print advertising campaign with the same message. They have already spent half a million dollars. We should all fear to learn how much more they are willing to spend because … their pockets are deep.
"The results of campaigns like this are terrifying. The ultimate victims of their message are people like Matthew Shepard -- people who happen to step into the paths of individuals who are swayed by the messages of such ads and by the climate of intolerance that they are fostering. Wearing the cloak of ‘Christian charity,’ these ads proclaim that lesbians and gays are defective, that being gay is a bad thing that we can and should change.
"Because these messengers are wolves in ‘Christian’ clothing, some of the people hearing these messages doubtless believe they are being given a ‘biblical’ dispensation to despise gays and lesbians. And the distance between that kind of hatred and overt violence is far too short. Ask the thousands of people who are the targets every year of anti-gay hate crimes. I would tell you to ask Matthew Shepard, but you cannot….
"The terrible news of what happened to Matthew Shepard is sweeping through a horrified gay community, a gay community already beleaguered by this period of backlash. I am here to say, ‘Enough.’ And I am here to say we need a federal law to help protect all Americans from hate crimes based on sexual orientation-- real or perceived.
"There is no hate crimes law in Wyoming. And while I hope the people who tried to kill Matthew Shepard are punished to the full extent of the law, the law in this case is insufficient. Not only can they not face additional punishment because this was, in my view, a hate crime, they also face no federal penalty -- unlike people who commit hate crimes based on race, religion, national origin or disability. Hate crimes based on sexual orientation are the third-highest category of all hate crimes reported to the FBI -- holding steady around 11 percent a year.
"There is a bill in Congress now called the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. It would give the federal government the power to investigate crimes such as the one committed against Matthew Shepard. Until and unless that passes, they cannot intervene. We need this law.
"Finally, let me close by noting that tomorrow is National Coming Out Day -- the day when the Human Rights Campaign urges all lesbian and gay people to be open about ourselves and here is the terrifying story of a young man who tried to live an openly gay life, only to suffer the most horrific of consequences. Matthew Shepard tried to live that example, and now he has become an example of how dangerous it still is to be a lesbian or gay person in America at the turn of this century. I hope and pray that this example will not drive gay people back into the shadows -- where the religious right would prefer we live. Rather, he should become a clarion call to every fair-minded person in this nation to stop this climate of hate, to stamp out anti-gay bigotry wherever they see it."
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Last updated 18:45 hours, 12 October 1998 by Melissa Gutierrez. Contact: lady_highqueen at yahoo dot com |
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