A Birthday Wish for Matthew Shepard

By Simon O'Mahony

Tomorrow, December 1st 2012, would have been Matt’s 36th birthday. In honor of his life, his legacy, and the wonderful work of the Matthew Shepard Foundation I would like to do something special to remember and celebrate Matt. 

My idea is quite simple. I ask that this weekend, you snap a photo of yourself wearing your Erase Hate Wristband and if you choose to hold a birthday wish, or a message of hope, please include it in the photo. 

You can post it directly to the Erase Hate Photo Campaign for the Matthew Shepard Foundation Facebook page. I will collect all photos and compile a special video of the images. This powerful act will take less than a minute out of your weekend but the impact, I hope, will be quite powerful. 

Remember….”one picture is worth a thousand words.”

Happy Birthday to Matt! I look forward to seeing your pictures, and thank you.

GLBT History Month: Matthew Shepard

As a gay college student, Matthew Shepard was the victim of a deadly hate crime. His murder brought national and international attention to the need for GLBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation.

The Legacy of Matthew Shepard featuring Judy Shepard in Denver tonight

"I don't have any remorse," says killer of Matthew Shepard

The creators of 'The Laramie Project' (clip below) have created a new Matthew Shepard-related production based on interviews with Shepard's killer Aaron McKinney.

The Associated Press reports that, in addition to still hating gay people, McKinney is quoted as saying, "As far as Matt is concerned, I don't have any remorse."

So sad. - via Jezebel

The Meaning of Matthew

Today, the name Matthew Shepard is synonymous with gay rights, but before his grisly murder in 1998, Matthew was simply Judy Shepard’s son. For the first time in book form, Judy Shepard speaks about her loss, sharing memories of Matthew, their life as a typical American family, and the pivotal event in the small college town that changed everything.

The Meaning of Matthew follows the Shepard family in the days immediately after the crime, when Judy and her husband traveled to see their incapacitated son, kept alive by life support machines; how the Shepards learned of the incredible response from strangers all across America who held candlelit vigils and memorial services for their child; and finally, how they struggled to navigate the legal system as Matthew’s murderers were on trial. Heart-wrenchingly honest, Judy Shepard confides with readers about how she handled the crippling loss of her child, why she became a gay rights activist, and the challenges and rewards of raising a gay child in America today.

The Meaning of Matthew not only captures the historical significance and complicated civil rights issues surrounding one young man’s life and death, but it also chronicles one ordinary woman’s struggle to cope with the unthinkable.

All books purchased by September 20 of this year will be personally inscribed to the buyer and signed by Judy Shepard. Order your copy at MatthewShepard.org.

HRC condemns Rep. Foxx’s remarks calling Matthew Shepard’s hate motivated murder “a hoax”

During debate on hate crimes legislation taking place today on the floor of the United States House of Representatives, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed that Matthew Shepard's death was “a hoax.”

While Matthew’s mother, Judy Shepard looked on from the House gallery, Foxx, who managed the floor for those opposed to the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, spoke saying, “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.”


More after the jump.

“Vile lies, like the one spread by Rep. Foxx today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about Matthew’s brutal hate-fueled murder, continues to underscore how extreme anti-LGBT opponents have become,” said Brad Luna, Communications Director for the Human Rights Campaign. “It is no longer acceptable in this day and age to just come right out and say you don’t like gay people. Instead, extremist opponents of equality must resort to these types of malicious and twisted lies. Rep. Foxx should be ashamed of herself.”

On the night of October 7, 1998, two men led Matthew Shepard to a remote area east of Laramie, Wyoming where they demonstrated unimaginable acts of hate, killing the twenty-one year old college student because he was gay. This hate motivated murder sparked a national outcry to expand hate crimes laws to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The perpetrators of this heinous act are now both serving life sentences for Matthew’s death.

Media Matters for America has posted video of Rep. Foxx’s remarks today and background information regarding widespread acceptance among the media and others that Matthew’s murder was motivated by hate violence. To view the video and read the background, go to: http://mediamattersaction.org/items/200904290005

Because there is no federal law mandating states and municipalities to report hate crimes, they are often underreported. However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s own statistics, based on voluntary reporting, show that since 1991 over 100,000 hate crime offenses have been reported to the FBI, with 7,624 reported in 2007, the FBI’s most recent reporting period. Violent crimes based on sexual orientation constituted 16.6 percent of all hate crimes in 2007, with 1,265 reported for the year. In addition, while not captured in the federal statistics, transgender Americans too often live in fear of violence.

The LLEHCPA gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias motivated violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. It provides the Justice Department with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias. It also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers, or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias motivated crimes.

A wide coalition of national organizations has called for the passage of the LLEHCPA legislation. Some of those organizations supporting this legislation include: the National Sheriffs Association; International Association of Chiefs of Police; 26 state Attorneys General; the National District Attorneys Association; the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; the Anti-Defamation League; the NAACP; the National Council of La Raza; the Presbyterian Church; the Episcopal Church; and the National Disability Rights Network.

To take action to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, please visit: www.FightHateNow.org.



Ten years since Matthew Shepard

Wyoming officials lost Matthew Shepard's autopsy report?

Wow, this is unforgivable.

Good thing Colorado's Dr. Patrick Allen, the guy who performed the autopsy, kept his records.

Why was Matthew different?

Why did Matthew Shepard's murder get so much attention, when other murders in the community, including gay people of color, trans people, and other communities that are marginalized even within the GLBT community, do not? Cathy Renna explains as we remember Shepard 10 years after his murder.

Obama releases statement on the 10th anniversary of Matthew Shepard murder

He's far from perfect when it comes to GLBT issues but at least Barack Obama had the class to issue a statement about Matthew Shepard on the tenth anniversary of his murder.

Erase Hate

In observance of the ten years since the murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, the Matthew Shepard Foundation launched an aggressive anti-hate campaign aimed at creating a movement of people working to lessen the impact of hate in society. Realizing the importance of this 10th year observance, Judy Shepard, Executive Director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, launched the ‘Campaign to Erase Hate’ by asking the crowd of more than 500 people to raise themselves to the power of ten and join with her in helping the Foundation fulfill its mission of erasing hate.

The overall goal of this new campaign is to equip individuals with the necessary tools to discuss and address hate in our society. These tools include personal webpages, resources on dealing with hateful speech and actions, monthly correspondence and most importantly, a way to invite ten others to join.

“We are starting a movement of people dedicated to erasing hate from our schools, workplaces, and communities. For the last ten years, individuals have been raising themselves to do amazing things with no resources. What we are trying to do is give this great work a structure and create a community of individuals who are using their voices and talents to address these issues.” Said Judy Shepard.

Campaign messaging will focus on ways for individuals to raise themselves to the power of ten with a special emphasis on engaging youth. Over the course of the coming year, the Matthew Shepard Foundation will be concentrating its efforts on providing young people with a voice and the resources needed to live a healthy and hate-free life. The ‘Campaign to Erase Hate’ will utilize MatthewsPlace.com, a youth-designed website launched by the Foundation last fall, to involve young people in the campaign. Plans include working with various social networking sites, such as Facebook and MySpace, to tap into the growing trends of on how young people communicate with each other.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation was founded by Judy, Dennis, and Logan Shepard in memory of 21-year-old Matthew, who was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998. Since that time ten years ago, the family and the Foundation have received thousands of emails and letters from people sharing their stories on what they are doing to help in the mission to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion & Acceptance”.

“The philosophy of the campaign is to start with individuals in the community who can put a face on the impact of hate. Then, if those people engage ten of their friends who then engage ten of their friends, we will quickly reach our goal of changing the hearts and minds of one million people. Your voice is the most powerful tool in erasing hate.” Said Shepard.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation is dedicated to 'Erasing Hate' through education, advocacy and awareness. The Foundation is the voice for inclusive hate crimes legislation and works to empower and ensure the safety of gay, transgender and allied youth. For more information, please visit MatthewShepard.org.

Support the Matthew Shepard Foundation

On June 9, the Matthew Shepard Foundation announced Coors Brewing Company's generous offer to match 100% of individual donations up to the first $25,000 and the response was wonderful. Coors would now like to extend the match for another $10,000 so this is a great time to take advantage of this outstanding opportunity. !

Make a one time or sustaining donation today and support these initiatives of the Matthew Shepard Foundation as part of our Campaign to Erase Hate:

MatthewsPlace.com

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