Listen to this most recent heinous account:
Last Wednesday evening, October 7, a 22-year-old University of Wyoming student named Matthew Shepard was found bloody and unconscious northeast of Laramie by a man on a bicycle who at first thought he was a scarecrow or a dummy because of how he was tied to the fence (he was tied spread eagle to a buck fence).  Shepard’s skull had been smashed with a blunt object. He also appeared to have suffered burns on his body and cuts on his head and face. Shepard had clearly been left to die on the fence post.

Shepard had been to a popular student bar Laramie on the night of the incident. The suspects apparently led Shepard to believe they were gay, and Shepard said he was as well. The two allegedly persuaded Shepard to leave with them in their car.  As of this writing, Shepard is still in a coma and his parents, who live in Saudi Arabia because Shepard’s dad works for an oil company, are frantically trying to get to the U.S. to be with their son.

Hold on to this thought while we shift from Wyoming to Kentucky:
Remember Michael Carneal, the kid who shot and killed three of his fellow students at a prayer meeting last December and wounded five others? He pled guilty but mentally insane to charges stemming from that incident.  His expected sentence—life without parole for 25 years—will be handed down in two months.

What you may not have been told about the Kentucky shooting is that this past June, young Carneal told his psychological evaluators that he fired into the crowd in an effort to stop his fellow classmates from directing anti-gay teasings and taunts against him (Carneal says he’s not gay).  At times this harassment grew intense, ranging from daily verbal taunting to physical assaults.  The reason you don’t know this information is because it has never been covered in the mainstream press. Even Carnal’s attorneys failed to mention this fact in a statement they released after Carnal’s hearing.

Don’t forget about the 15-year-old kid who knifed to death one of his classmates in the middle of a crowded  in Northampton, MA because the classmate had taunted him for years about (allegedly) being gay.

It’s seems to me that a lot of hate crimes against gays are going on, and yet our nationwide homophobia persists. Wyoming has been trying three years to pass a hate crimes bill, but it has always been defeated, thanks largely to the conservative religious right groups who continue to say the this sort of legislation will serve only to give lesbigays “special rights.” ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, is still on hold in Congress because of the religious right’s antics.

As I say to anyone who will listen, I hold the religious right leaders responsible for most of the hate activity going on in the U.S. today. Pat Robertson, Trent Lott, Jesse Helms, Jerry Falwell, Gary Bauer, Ralph Reed. These men have intentionally contributed to the ongoing hatred toward homosexuals by ignorant folks who see it as some sort of perversion. I hold these men responsible for young Matthew Shepard’s beating. They and other religious leaders perpetuate the fear and the stereotypes from their pulpits and broadcasting stations.  If these people would merely denounce the hatred  think of how much more quickly 80% of persecution against homosexuals would go away. Instead, we have the story of a 19-year-old who tore down hundreds of gay pride flags in a town near Orlando last June. He had become angry about the flags after he heard televangelist Pat Robertson warn earlier in the week that Orlando would be punished by God for allowing the gay pride banners to fly.

Fortunately, the national press has its cameras and pens on Shepard and Laramie, Wyoming.  The nation can see the heinous crime and ponder—perhaps more people will be moved to encourage their legislators to pass hate crime bills and ENDA.  Even in Manhattan—which is not much larger than Laramie,  we need to stay on top of educating the masses as well.

Shepard’s uncle said this about his nephew: “He’s a small person with a big heart, mind and soul that someone tried to beat out of him. Right now, he’s in God’s hands.”  Matthew Shepard is not expected to live.  Let’s actively work to end this madness soon.
 
 

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