Founded on freedom and tolerance, the United States was a place where marginalized religious and ethnic groups could escape persecution. Hate crimes – random acts of violence against individuals based solely on who they are – violate everything our country stands for. When a member of a group is targeted, entire communities are impacted and live in fear as a consequence.
In May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1592, The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act by a vote of 237 to 180.
This bill not only had the support of minority groups, but also was supported by law enforcement and would have given the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the department with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, and the bill would have added sexual orientation, gender identity or disability as protected classes as well.
Unfortunately, due partly to a scare campaign by the religious right wing implying that this bill would somehow infringe on their First Amendment right to use ethnic and other slurs, the President discussed the possibility of a veto and the bill was tied up in the Senate.
Proponents have been trying to get a Federal Hate Crimes Bill passed since the year 2000. Frustrated by the possibility of a Presidential veto, and committed to assuring basic civil rights, Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator Gordon Smith brought the hate crimes bill forward as an amendment to the defense bill in order to safeguard against a veto by President Bush. But the Defense Bill is now tied up and the subject of heated debate as well.
It has been nearly eight years since 22 year-old Matthew Sheppard was lured away from a Wyoming Bar by total strangers. They drove in a truck to a remote spot and beat the young man mercilessly. His skull was smashed with a handgun. His hands and face were cut and he was strung up on the fence and exposed overnight to 30 degree temperatures. His life hung by a thread. A few days later, at a hospital in Fort Collins Colorado, Matthew Shepard died.
Matthew Sheppard was killed because he was gay. His murderers were eligible for the death penalty, but their lives were spared by Matthew’s parents who asked to court to stop the cycle of violence and let them live the rest of their lives in prison.
The question is simple: How can we, as a country, project ourselves as moral leaders and propose to teach our values to other countries when we allow hate crimes to go unpunished and refuse to take a national stand against them? What it says to the world is that it is okay for some of our citizens to live in fear; that they are not worthy of the basic right to live without fear of violence.
Below is the appeal written by Dennis Sheppard, the man who spared the lives of his son’s murderers. Do not allow this to wait. Join with Dennis Sheppard and let our leaders know how important this is.
A Father’s Appeal: Choose to Act
By Dennis Shepard
Father of Matthew Shepard
Co-Founder, Matthew Shepard Foundation
When my son Matthew was murdered nearly nine years ago, my family had a decision to make. We could mourn Matthew’s death privately – withdrawing into some semblance of seclusion, try to resume our “normal” lives, pretending that nothing had changed…or we could use this tragedy to talk about hate and help make Matthew’s murder a wake-up call throughout our country. We made our decision – a choice we consciously and proudly continue to support every day.
Our son died because of hate. He was killed simply because he was gay. For us, our choice was a no-brainer. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about Matthew – his spirit, his passion for people, or his smile. And since his death, we have witnessed more acts of hate, bigotry, and injustice against other lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender (LGBT) Americans. For Matthew and all of the other victims, our family has chosen to fight and to act – to speak out against hate, to “come-out” as allies, and to engage ourselves in the process of change.
Some days are harder than others, but I choose to act for the memory of my son. I choose to act for the memories of the thousands of victims of hate crimes. I choose to act for those that don’t have the strength or ability to act. I choose to act because we, as a nation, cannot afford not to.
I choose to act because I was, and still am, very proud of my son…of who he was and the struggles he had to overcome to become that man. I choose to act because I never want another LGBT American to go through the fear, the pain, the violence, or the loneliness that Matthew went through on that horrible night. I choose to act because I never want another parent to go through what we went through – the grief, the giant hole in the heart, the bedside vigil, or the realization that holidays, family vacations, and the normal, dull routine of work, home, and life will never, ever be the same.
All of us – gay and straight alike – need to act. Hate affects each and every one of us. It knows no limits, follows no clear set of rules, and has infiltrated our society’s most basic institutions. For that reason, I am humbled that the United States House of Representatives has chosen to act, and to do so in Matt’s memory, and the United States Senate is poised to follow. They are now taking the first giant steps in making the Matthew Shepard Act the law of our land.
The legislation is simple: to protect people from being attacked, beaten, brutalized, and murdered because of who they are. It’s a necessary, measured response to the consequences of hate that took my son away from me and has taken far too many other Americans from those who loved them.
I challenge all of you to follow the example of the House by making the choice to act. Encourage your Senators to vote for the Matthew Shepard Act. Choose to erase hate. Today! We all have a responsibility to act. If we don’t – who will?