A Message Of Love.

From a family that known violence, sometimes that is the best message of all.
Matthew Shepard’s family share powerful message for LGBTQ+ community with hate crime at all-time high

Matthew Shepard’s family have urged LGBTQ+ people to be “proud of being your whole self”, 25 years on from the student’s brutal murder.
Pink News UK
By Emily Chudy
October 14, 2023

Shepard, a 21-year-old gay student from Wyoming, was brutally killed in a homophobic hate crime in 1988. With anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes rising, his parents have addressed the community, telling queer people: “Don’t give up.”

Shepard was attacked on Tuesday 6 October 1998 by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, who beat and tortured him before leaving him for dead, tied to a fence near Laramie in rural Wyoming. He died six days later.

Speaking to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Shepard’s parents shared a hopeful message for the LGBTQ+ community in the face of mounting bigotry, saying: “We’re here for you, we’ve always been here for you.

“We know the trans community is feeling under attack right now, particularly trans kids,” they added.

“Just stay positive, because you are a part of this country and part of all of the communities that you are involved in, and you should be proud of the fact that you are being your whole self, good for you.”

The article goes on to say,

In October 2009, then-president Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law. The legislation permits federal-level prosecutions for crimes based on sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability.

[…]

Shepard’s family have previously condemned rising hate crime, with Dennis Shepard telling PinkNews in March: “If you don’t study history, you will repeat it … If you’re docile, you deserve what you get. And I can’t – I will not – allow myself to be docile.”

In 2011 I attended a Civil Rights conference giving by the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut at Quinnipiac University which featured a talk by Mr. Shepard.

Biden marks 25th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s murder, noting increased threats, violence targeting LGBTQ Americans
The Hill
By Brooke Migdon
October 12, 2023


President Biden warned Thursday of increasing violence against the LGBTQ community in remarks commemorating the 25th anniversary of the killing of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming who was brutally attacked and later died of his injuries in one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in U.S. history.

“Matthew’s tragic and senseless murder shook the conscience of the American people,” Biden said in a statement. “And his courageous parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, turned Matthew’s memory into a movement, galvanizing millions of people to combat the scourge of anti-LGBTQI+ hate and violence in America.”

[…]

Biden said, “Today, as threats and violence targeting the LGBTQI+ community continue to rise, our work is far from finished. No American should face hate or violence for who they are or who they love.”

[…]

Biden on Thursday called on Congress to pass the Equality Act, which would amend existing federal anti-discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

I hear so many trans people say, “There is no difference between the political parties!” and I say would Trump or any Republican say anything positive about about the act, or for that matter would they even say anything?

Politically disappointed, eternally hopeful, Judy Shepard reflects on the last 25 years
Wyoming Public Radio
By Jeff Victor
October 6, 2023

In the 25 years since the death of her son, Judy Shepard has advocated on the national stage for LGBTQ acceptance. She pushed for and witnessed former President Barrack Obama’s signing of the Matthew Shepard and James Bird, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009.

Throughout the years, award-winning playwrights, directors and musicians have produced art grappling with the death of her son and what it has meant for the larger culture. Shepard spoke with Wyoming Public Radio’s Jeff Victor about Matthew’s legacy, the everyday reminders of his life and, despite everything, her hope for the future and for the next generation.

Jeff Victor: It's been 25 years since you lost your son. As we come up on that anniversary, what do you want people to be thinking about?

Judy Shepard: Well, I honestly thought, when we got into this work, that in 25 years, things would be fixed — things would be safe and equal, and that folks who were largely ignorant of the LGBTQ+ community would be educated, and understand that they're just people striving to survive just like everybody else. Nothing about them is different other than who they love. As my husband would say, ‘They're just as boring as everybody else.’

They're just people just trying to get by, and nothing about them affects anybody else. So it's this whole thing about legislating against them. And the hate crimes that are still happening — are just beyond me. So I am frustrated that we're not done. I am ecstatic that we have come this far. But there's just so much left to do. There's just so much left to do. We should have nationwide job protections, we should have nationwide rules about adoption and public accommodation and all the things that affect the community that — if you're not part of that community — don't even occur to you as being something you couldn't do. It's just unfathomable to me that we still, in today's world, think that just because you're gay, you're somehow less than. I just don't get it.

That is all we want, to live our lives in peace. The Republicans are always talking about the “Gay Agenda” well is there really is a “Gay Agenda” it is that, to live our lives in peace.

The Los Angles Times writes in a commentary,

Indeed, a lot has changed for LGBTQ+ people living in the U.S. since 1998: Marriage equality is recognized, out queer and trans people can serve in the military, the federal anti-hate crime law now includes violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Basic rights that were all hard-fought victories.

[…]

But progress isn’t linear. More recently, politicians and activists have been emboldened to be more vocal in their anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric as they push to strip queer and trans people — including children — of their rights and humanity. States have passed or proposed a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws, including those that prohibit trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender, banning gender-affirming care, limiting trans athletes from competing in school sports and even forcing teachers to out trans students.

It’s a reminder that the ignorance, fear and hostility toward queer and trans people has never fully gone away. Shepard was neither the first nor last person to be a victim of anti-LGBTQ+ violence. And not only are members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans women of color, still being killed for who they are, people are now being targeted just for being allies. And it’s the rhetoric that foments violence.

It seems like it is three steps forward, four steps backward.

Matthew Shepard’s story is a vital reminder for queer and trans people and our allies to stay vigilant. The fight isn’t over until everyone can feel free to live and thrive as who they are. And television, with its reach, is just one front of the cultural battlefield.