Young, Gay and Murred Junr High

Contents:

• MATTHEW SHEPARD: THE LEGACY OF A GAY LLEGE STUNT 20 YEARS AFTER HIS BTAL MURR
• YOUNG, GAY AND MURRED JUNR HIGH
• FLORIDA TEEN KILLED BY MAN WHO FEARED BEG OUTED AS GAY, POLICE SAY
• THE TTH BEHD AMERI’S MOST FAMO GAY-HATE MURR
• REARS DEBATE NEWSWEEK STORY ON A GAY MURR
• KGOV'S LIST OF GAY MASS MURRERS

MATTHEW SHEPARD: THE LEGACY OF A GAY LLEGE STUNT 20 YEARS AFTER HIS BTAL MURR

Twenty years ago, Matthew Shepard was a "smart, funny" 21-year-old, no different than any other young man that was an "ordary kid who wanted to make the world a better place, " his parents October 1998, that all changed, when the openly gay llege stunt was abducted, beaten and tied to a fence life end a few days later, and wh me a wispread awarens of the dangers that members of the LGBTQ muny face every day. The homophobic btal killg also served as a talyst for progrs Ameri's laws and the two s that have passed, however, remas batable how far the untry has e sce the shock of that crime.

They later nfsed they had "veloped a roe which they'd pretend to be gay to w Matt's nfince, " Marsn said. (MORE: 'Gay panic' fense still ed vlence s may be banned by new feral bill)McKney h Shepard about 20 tim the head and face wh the end of the pistol, Marsn said, before the two stole Shepard's sho, got their tck and drove back to town. Agast the gay muny until after he grew up to bee very terted ternatnal human rights, particularly women's rights the Middle East and Asia, and he studied polil science, said Marsn.

YOUNG, GAY AND MURRED JUNR HIGH

"Everybody he met, he said, 'Jt to let you know ahead of time, I'm gay, '" Dennis Shepard said.

FLORIDA TEEN KILLED BY MAN WHO FEARED BEG OUTED AS GAY, POLICE SAY

"The natn mournsThe shockg homophobic crime the sparsely-populated state garnered natnal sympathy. Members of the Wtboro Baptist Church protted the funeral, picketg wh anti-gay Fred Phelps and his parishners traveled om Kansas to Laramie for the funeral and trial, prottg wh brightly lored signs and spewg hatred.

McKney went to trial, and fense attorneys argued his vlent actns were "gay panic" -- a reactn to Shepard makg a sexual advance. "When the fense gets out there and starts talkg out of, the victim's flt, you know, 'gay panic, '... "The "gay panic" fense is still legal most stat but has been outlawed a few.

THE TTH BEHD AMERI’S MOST FAMO GAY-HATE MURR

McKney has cled to speak to ABC News while Henrson did not immediately rpond to a requt for WashgtonShepard's murr shed a light on the spe of feral hate crime laws, which at the time did not clu sexual orientatn or genr gay activists monstrate the streets of North Hollywood to prott agast the ath of Wyomg Universy stunt Mathew Shepard, Oct. 13, Mata/AFP via Getty Imag FILEDemonstrators prott the hate killg of gay stunt Matthew Shepard, Oct. Matthew Shepard was tortured and murred 1998 and was targeted for beg gay, acrdg to wns.

"Beyond the feral hate crime law, the years sce Matthew Shepard's ath, among the most substantive legislative ws for the LGBTQ muny were the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell 2010, so gay ary members n serve openly whout fear of beg dismissed, and the legalizatn of same-sex marriage across the untry 2015. Michael Loccisano/Getty Imag, FILEFor Judy Shepard, one of the bt signs of cultural progrs is seeg Gay Straight Alliance groups rampg up schools. In Wyomg, where there's a populatn of jt 500, 000, she said there are 19 Gay Straight Allianc.

Larry was shed to the hospal, where he died two days later of bra Larry Kg shootg beme the most proment gay-bias crime sce the murr of Matthew Shepard 10 years ago.

REARS DEBATE NEWSWEEK STORY ON A GAY MURR

There are gay characters on popular TV shows such as "Gossip Girl" and "Ugly Betty, " and no one seems to notice. Kids like Larry are so fortable wh the ncept of beg openly gay that they are g out younger and younger. One study found that the average age when kids self-intify as gay has tumbled to 13.

Even as homosexualy has bee more accepted, the prospect of beg openly gay middle school rais a troublg set of issu. The Larry book talked about how he was gay and falsely asserted that he drsed Goth and drag. " But the therapist told Greg he thought that Larry was jt tryg to get attentn and might not unrstand what meant to be gay.

Every day a driver would take Larry to school, and some weeks he went to nearby Ventura, where he attend gay youth-group meetgs.

KGOV'S LIST OF GAY MASS MURRERS

Epste, a lm, brown-haired woman wh bifols, was openly gay to her lleagu, and although she was generally not out to her stunts, she kept a picture of her partner on her sk that some stunts saw. One teacher plas that by beg openly gay and discsg her girliend (prumably, no one would have plaed if she had talked about a hband), Epste brought the subject of sex to school. "Part of the reason why people are g out earlier is they have the word 'gay, ' and they know explas the feelg.

More than 3, 600 high schools sponsor gay-straight allianc signed to foster acceptance of gay stunts, but only 110 middle schools have them. She was approached by several boys her class who said that Larry had started tntg them the halls—"I know you want me, " he'd say—and their iends were llg them gay.

In blue-llar, immigrant Oxnard, there is no gay muny to speak of and generally very ltle public discsn of gay issu, at least until Larry's murr happened.