Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act passes 68-29

October 24, 12:29 AMAustin Civil Rights ExaminerMichelle Palmer

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Judy Shepard has worked for 11 long years to secure the passage of the legislation that makes the assault or murder of someone based on their orientation or gender identification a hate crime.

Mrs. Shepard's battle began in early October of 1998, when her son, 21-year-old Matthew, was attacked shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming. Shepard, a gay man, met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson in a bar. McKinney and Henderson offered Shepard a ride in their car, and later robbed, pistol whipped, tortured and tied Matthew to a fence in a remote, rural area, then left him to die.

Judy Shepard has spent the intervening years making sure her son's death was not entirely in vain. It was, no matter the outcome of the Matthew Shepard Act, a heart-wrenching ordeal for any mother. But this mother was determined to see some sort of good come from the death of her son, and on October 22nd, Judy finally saw the legislation, that might just reduce the likelihood of another mother's child from meeting Matthew's fate, come to pass.

It's unfortunate that the only way this legislation passed was due to it's inclusion in a "must-pass" Department of Defense bill - but it did pass. That is the important thing. As the Wiki entry on Matthew Shepard explains:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard

"In court the defendants used varying rationales to defend their actions. They attempted to use the gay panic defense, arguing that they were driven to temporary insanity by alleged sexual advances by Shepard. At another point they stated that they had only wanted to rob Shepard and never intended to kill him.

A recent interview with McKinney and Henderson in preparation for  “The Laramie Project: ten years later, an Epilogue”, a docudrama based on interviews with the killers and townspeople, illustrated the fact that while Henderson regrets his actions, and not stopping McKinney from delivering the blows that ended Matthew's life, McKinney still feels no remorse for his murder of Matthew Shepard. This is why we need hate crime laws. Sometimes people just cannot discern right from wrong. Society needs protection from those people.

Gay and transgender people are part of society, whether some people find that morally acceptable or not. This is not about religion. This is not about morality. This is about people who are hurting no one, living their lives, paying taxes, yet not receiving the full protection of the law. Gay bashing has become a sport in America. Due to the lack of hate crime laws in the past, defendants have gotten off with a slap on the wrist, or utilized the "gay panic defense" to receive lesser sentences.

In a society where a 14-year-old will walk into a classroom and shoot a classmate twice in the head, as Brandon McInerney did to Larry King in Oxnard, CA in 2008, it is clear that gay and transgender citizens need more protection than the law previously allowed, if only to point out to society how unacceptable violence is simply because you do not like who someone is. Disliking homosexuals or transgendered people does not give one a license, or excuse, to become violent with them.

It's sad that this type of tolerance has to be taught to some people. However, it clearly does in this case. That is what laws are for. Civil Laws - just as religious laws in the distant past did - teach people what is acceptable behavior, and what is not. When this country began, you could beat and rape your slaves, and still be above the law. Today, we have no slaves - and assault and rape are punishable by law, no matter who you are. That is as it should be. The Hate Crimes bill just added one more level to a growing awareness that all Americans have the right to the Pursuit of Happiness - and the expectation that they will be defended by our legal system as well as any other citizen, rather than minimized because of who or what they are.

Congratulations, Judy.

R.I.P. now, Matthew.

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Judy Shepard on Matthew