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Obama signs hate crime bill; another step toward social equality
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It was eleven years ago this month that Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered and left on a fence post in Wyoming to die. Earlier that same year, James Byrd Jr. was dragged three miles behind a pick-up truck in Jasper, Texas. Later, in 2002, Gwen Araujo was found strangled and beaten in October of 2002. The common element: all three of these crimes were fueled by hatred and bigotry, thus classifying them as a hate crime.
A hate crime is any crime toward another member of any group - whether it be gender, race, creed, or sexual preference - that is motivated by prejudice or intolerance. Matthew Shepard was murdered because he happened to be gay, James Byrd Jr. was murdered because he was African-American, and Gwen Araujo because she was born a male, but living the life she felt was right for her. These people died because of something that made them different, something that was beyond their control.
Today, October 28, 2009 marks a new day. Today President Obama signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault a person because of his or her sexual orientation of gender identity. While not an end to all societal prejudices, Obama signing the new hate crime bill will hopefully be a strong push towards social equality.
One person that was in attendance to this important event was Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard. Judy has for years fought to keep her son's tragedy alive. She founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation in honor of her son and lobbied the act all the way to the U.S. Congress when in 2007, the bill originally did not pass. However, she has continued to fight, and today her fight has paid off as Obama signed the hate crimes bill into action.
While this action does not end hate crime in America, it certainly makes society one step closer.
