Matthew Shepard was a college student in Laramie, Wyoming. He was a closeted gay man, but in a small town, people knew.
One night, two young men from town were seen to leave a local bar with the barely five-foot tall, thin Matt. Later, someone riding a bicycle came upon what he believed to be a scarecrow bound to a fence, and shoeless. It was Matthew, beaten so much that he was covered in his own blood, only lines etched by his tears during prolonged torture were seen on his bloody face. The police officer who came to the scene was horrified. He was flown to a trauma center.
It came to the point where DNA evidence and fibers were found on two town youths, and the two young men were arrested, tried, and found guilty after Matt finally died in hospital on October 12, 1998.
Moises Kaufman’s The Laramie Project was a 2000 play, followed by a film in 2002. You can view it on YouTube…
I didn’t think that I would be emotionally overcome by seeing the film, but I was, especially so when Bill Irwin had his say, in character, retelling his heartbreaking story. Matt’s father pleading for his son’s murderers not to be killed, but given life sentences, was just unbearable.
In the film, you may see how members of the Westboro Baptist Church demonstrated with signs Matt In Hell, and God Hates Fags. Townspeople created angel costumes with large wings to screen out the religious demonstration at the funeral.
Hate crime legislation was bitterly opposed by those who said, “Gay Rights Are Special Rights.” President Clinton tried to pass it, while President Bush said he would veto another Congressional try. It wasn’t until President Obama finally had legislation he could sign into law in 2009.
Matt’s parents created The Matthew Shepard Foundation in 1998 to honor their son, and to help endangered gay youth.
Matthew’s ashes were finally interred in Washington National Cathedral in 2018. He is the only other American to be given the honor along with Helen Keller.
For more information, and to donate to, The Matthew Shepard Foundation.
Truly Matthew Shepard is a martyr, and he joins Harvey Milk in Heaven.