Hi everyone,
Matthew Shepard was hardly an intimidating figure. At 5-foot-2 and barely 100 pounds, the University of Wyoming student was a small man who loved good coffee and good conversation.
Shepard was also gay.
It was never going to be a fair fight that autumn night in 1998, when convicted murderers Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney beat the life out of Shepard just because he was gay.
First, they pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum and stole his wallet in Laramie, Wyo.
Later, they tied him to a fence in the desert and beat him until his skull was so badly crushed and his brain was so badly swollen it impaired his ability to breathe.
This unspeakable hate crime shocked America and ultimately sparked the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) that was signed into law by President Barack Obama on Oct. 28, 2009.
It took more than a decade, but the federal government got it right.
On Saturday, the blatantly anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church plans to protest The Brookfield Theatre for the Arts’ performance of “The Laramie Project,” a production about Shepard’s life and death.
The Kansas-based church, whose Web site is www.godhatesfags.com, plans to send seven people to Brookfield, according to Shirley Phelps-Roper, the daughter of church founder Fred Phelps.
To read more about Matthew Shepard and the Westboro Baptist Church, check out my “Take on Life” column on Wednesday.
Only in the print edition of The News-Times.
One of my New Year’s resolutions was to write to Brian Koonz to thank him for his column “Take on Life” and for the stands he takes on issues, great and small. I am especially gratified by this column on Matthew Shepherd and the dangerous groups that promote such hatred of gay people. My husband and I have three daughters. Two are gay. They are grown women now with careers. Our middle daughter and her partner are the mothers of our wonderful granddaughter. But as long as there are groups that promote hatred, we will fear for our chidren’s safety. We are grateful, though for the students who will be there to counter the hate group. And thank you again for this column that exposes the Westboro Baptist Church.
Comment by Susan Burke — March 11th, 2010 @ 7:07 pm