Seven Years After Matthew Shepard's Death, Groups Still Pushing for Passage of Hate Crime Legislation
Feature Story by Tyler Lewis - 10/12/2005
Judy Shepard, mother of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard, a gay college student at University of Wyoming who was murdered seven years ago today, is urging quick passage of hate crime legislation in the Senate.Only 29 states and the District of Columbia consider anti-gay violence as a hate crime. Shepard's death galvanized the movement for an expansion of current hate crimes laws to include acts committed against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender and gay rights.
According to FBI statistics, anti-gay crime ranks as the third most frequent form of hate violence.
The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2005, passed September 14 as an amendment to H.R. 3132, the Children's Safety Act of 2005, expands the definition of hate crimes to include offenses involving actual or perceived religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
The Senate version was introduced in May by Sens. Edward Kennedy, D. Mass., and Gordon Smith, R. Ore. It has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vote on the bill on September 20.
Judy Shepard is working with the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender advocacy organization, to use the momentum from the House victory and the anniversary of her son's murder to ensure the Senate understands the importance of passing the legislation.
In a video message on HRC's website, Shepard said, "My son Matthew was murdered in an anti-gay hate crime seven years ago this month. Since then, too many other innocent Americans have been attacked or killed because they were gay or transgender. But Congress still hasn't acted. Every American child deserves the strongest protections from some of this country's most heinous crimes."
