~*~Matthew ~*~Shepard ~*~

~*~Matthew ~*~Shepard ~*~

Everyone has probably heard of Matthew Shepard's story. This story is so sad and angers me deeply. It angers me to know that people STILL can not stop being homophobic! You would think that it being the new millenium, people would be able to open their eyes and see that being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender is NOT wrong!

Matthew Shepard was as harmless as a fly. He believed "in humanity." His parents even stated that "he takes everybody at face value and does not see the bad side of anyone."

In the February 1999 issue of Teen PeopleŽ there was an article on hate crimes. Uniquley titled: Hate in America. A small article on Matthew Shepard was featured. Here is *MY* summary of the article and what happened:

Matthew Shepard was just 21 years old when he was brutally murdered in Laramie, Wyoming. On the night of October 6th, Matt went to the Fireside alone. He ordered a Heineken and sat down. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson then entereed the bar at around midnight and got a pitcher of beer. They played pool and talked with Matt. I believe they convinced Matt that they were gay as well, and a half hour later they all left together.

They all got into Aaron's truck and there they hit Matt on the head with a .357 magnum. Aarons and Russell then drove to the deserted prairie. They found a split-rail fence and tied Matthew's small, 115-pound body to it. They continued to beat on him while they robbed him. Matthew was begging for his life the entire time. They gave him eighteen blows to the head, which crushed Matt's skull. They then left Matthew there to die.

Eighteen hours later a bicyclist found him still tied to the fence, comatose and barely living. He was then taken to Fort Collins, Colorado to a hospital. The next night his best friend Tina LaBrie was allowed to see him. She said he was all wrapped up and hooked up to a lot of tubes. This made her think of what Matt was into. He had his heart set on a career in human rights and he spoke often about the evils of prejudice. He just wanted to make a difference.

After hearing about the death of Matthew Shepard, waves of shock were sent thorughout Laramie as well as the rest of the country. There were candlelight vigils held in Matthew's honor.

Matthew Shepard was murdered for being gay at the hands of Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. Matthew was just being himself, not bothering anyone. He did nothing wrong. His strength and courage will never be forgotten.

****By the way, for all those people that say the Bible says that it is wrong to be gay, you are wrong! I talked to my Youth Group leader, the Reverend, and he said NOWHERE in the Bible does it say it is wrong to be gay. Also, I have read parts of the Bible and so have my friends, and we have yet to find where it says it is wrong to be gay. So PLEASE if you know where in the Bible it says it is wrong, PLEASE email me and tell me where it says that.****
Some people have brought to my attention some verses from the Bible that talk about homosexuality. If you would like to read them, ~*~Please Click Here~*~
(For all wondering, I am NOT Christian. I was born and baptised Catholic, I went through my first Holy Communion, then realized that that religion wasn't for me. I'm Agnostic for now.)


Whoever watched Anatomy of a Hate Crime on MTV PLEASE email me with your views on the movie. Click here to email me.

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