When two roofg workers beat a young gay man to ath Wyomg 1998, the gome crime quickly reverberated around the U.S. and turned the sandy-haired llege stunt to a powerful symbol of the qut for acceptance and equal rights.
Contents:
- THE TTH BEHD AMERI’S MOST FAMO GAY-HATE MURR
- MATTHEW SHEPARD: THE LEGACY OF A GAY LLEGE STUNT 20 YEARS AFTER HIS BTAL MURR
- MATTHEW SHEPARD NOT MURRED FOR BEG GAY, NEW BOOK CLAIMS
- IT’S STILL DANGERO TO BE GAY WYOMG
THE TTH BEHD AMERI’S MOST FAMO GAY-HATE MURR
* gay guy killed in wyoming *
The murr of Shepard, a gay Universy of Wyomg stunt, was a watershed moment for gay rights and LGBTQ acceptance the U. – When two roofg workers beat a young gay man to ath Wyomg 1998, the gome crime quickly reverberated around the U.
"The acrimony over Shepard's legacy ns high here, jt as did when anti-gay and gay-rights protters squared off at his funeral Casper. Wyomg remas "eply fensive" about the ia that Shepard was targeted bee he was gay, Burlgame as the Equaly State, Wyomg got s nickname for beg the first to let women vote.
MATTHEW SHEPARD: THE LEGACY OF A GAY LLEGE STUNT 20 YEARS AFTER HIS BTAL MURR
Matthew Shepard was abducted, beaten and killed 20 years ago bee he was gay. * gay guy killed in wyoming *
Today has fewer women s Legislature than any other state and remas hant to adopt polici to unter anti-gay bias and is among jt five stat — along wh Arkansas, Geia, Indiana and South Carola — that have not passed laws foced on crim motivated by the victim's inty, such as their sexual orientatn. Attus agast homosexualy persist Wyomg, but LGTBQ acceptance has advanced, said Jason Marsn, executive director of the Denver-based Matthew Shepard Foundatn. "As tragic as is, and as unfortunate as is, and as hard as is for Matthew's fay, and for my fay, for all of , to go through, opened up all of to be better people and really thk about who we are, " Henrson said of Shepard's ath a prison terview Tuday wh The Associated, he sisted, neher he nor McKney was motivated by anti-gay hatred when they offered Shepard a ri home om a bar.
McKney repeatedly ed homosexual slurs his nfsn, Marsn said.
The judge prohibed the "gay panic" fense. I'm so, so ashamed I was ever part of this, " Henrson gay rights activist argu that Henrson has paid his du for what he scribed as beg " the wrong place at the wrong time. The horrific killg of Matthew Shepard 1998 is wily seen as one of the worst anti-gay hate crim Amerin history.
MATTHEW SHEPARD NOT MURRED FOR BEG GAY, NEW BOOK CLAIMS
LARAMIE, Wyo. (AP) — When two roofg workers beat a young gay man to ath Wyomg 1998, the gome crime quickly reverberated around the U.S. and turned the sandy-haired llege stunt to a powerful symbol of the qut for acceptance and equal rights. * gay guy killed in wyoming *
They pistol whipped him wh a gun then tied him to a fence eezg ndns and set fire to him before leavg him to attack beme a e célèbre: precipated a natnal backlash agast hyper-macho culture and tac tolerance of homophobia. As a rult of Matthew’s ath, many good thgs have happened for the gay muny. Policians and celebri pledged support and fundg to bat anti-gay hate crime.
The Shepard fay have bee mpaigners for gay rights. Jimenez has been acced of beg a revisnist, a cricism ually rerved for extreme rightwg iologu that ny the Holot, and labelled a homophobe.
When he started he was nvced that Matthew died at the hands of homophob, but he soon disvered that Matthew’s tragedy began long before the night he was killed. “This do not make the perfect poster boy for the gay-rights movement, ” says Jimenez.
IT’S STILL DANGERO TO BE GAY WYOMG
Universy of Wyomg stunt Matthew Shepard, who was openly gay, was btally beaten October 1998 by Aaron McKney and Rsell Henrson. Shepard died several days later. The cint received ternatnal media verage and ntu to spark ntroversy about hate crim. Shepard’s parents, Judy and Dennis, tablished a foundatn Matthew’s name, which ntu s pro-LGBT tnal work today. * gay guy killed in wyoming *
But this is not the Matthew Shepard who beme a celebrated figure for the gay-rights movement Ameri. But the town also has a number of mobile home parks at the edg, some more ndown than the eveng of 6 October 1998, Matthew went to the Firi bar, a lol hangout that was purportedly gay-iendly. It was fairly well known the Laramie muny that McKney wouldn’t be one that was strikg out of a sense of homophobia.
The 1998 torture and murr of gay stunt Matthew Shepard Laramie, Wyomg, was a turng pot for gay rights the Uned Stat, promptg outrage, sorrow and activism. His murrers were both given nsecutive life sentenc, although they weren’t charged wh a hate crime. * gay guy killed in wyoming *
They ntacted the Associated Prs and a number of lol gay anisatns that same day.
Stephen Jimenez is an award-wng journalist and gay man.
Fifteen years after Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence and fatally beaten after leavg a bar Wyomg, a new book claims the gay teenager was murred for “reasons far more plited” than beg homosexual. * gay guy killed in wyoming *
So why has he put such time and effort to attemptg to prove that Matthew’s murr was not a hate crime, pecially as has seen him acced of beg an ally to the rightwg Christian fundamentalists who ny the realy of homophobia? “The view was that homophobic rednecks walked to a bar and saw an obvly gay man wh money and targeted him and beat him to ath for that reason, ” says Jimenez. That plit the origal story of two strangers walkg to a bar and targetg Matthew – someone they did not know – bee he was gay.
“Rsell Henrson ed to hang around wh gay people, ” Johnson told me.
“Laramie had a big gay populatn. I knew what people’s sexual orientatn was bee my bt iend’s son was gay. ”The police did not vtigate the killers’ relatnship to the gay days after the attack, on 12 October, Matthew died.