Last week, the United States Senate passed the Matthew Shepard Act. The act expands federal laws against hate crimes to include sexual orientation. The act is a fitting tribute to Matthew Shepard.
For anyone unfamiliar with Matthew Shepard, here's a summary: Matthew Shepard was a 21 year-old student at the University of Wyoming. After meeting two men at a gay bar in Laramie, the three men left together. The two men drove Matthew Shepard to a rural area, tied him to a fence post, beat him savagely, pistol-whipped him, and left him for dead. He died of his injuries after lingering for five days. The two men were not gay, and had gone to the gay bar to look for a victim. Matthew Shepard endured what nobody should, because he was gay.
The murder occurred in 1998. Since then, efforts to include sexual orientation as a hate crime have not been successful, until now.
The Matthew Shepard Act is expected to be vetoed by President Bush.
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