Mission of Matthew Shepard's mother: Stop hate crime

[jackson_dem]

-snip-

A winter wind is blowing down Pennsylvania Avenue, but she does what the photographer asks. She takes off her down vest and sits on a bench, smiling the best she can under the circumstances.

Shepard has been doing the best she can under the circumstances for almost a decade now.

It was in 1998 that Matthew, her 21-year-old son, who was gay, was beaten, tied to a fence and left to die, which he did three days later. It was a hate crime that made headlines around the world.

Shepard's life changed forever. She went from Wyoming housewife and mother to international activist who, with her husband, Dennis, established the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Its mission: to combat hate and bigotry through funding diversity and youth programs.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-10-shepard-hate-crimes_N.htm?csp=34

[maddezmom]

1. thanks for posting

K&R

[southern_belle]

2. kick

[tandot]

3. Just a few minutes ago I was reading about the despicable statements of Sally Kern

not much has changed in these 10 years.

My sister is a lesbian and she lives with her partner in Oklahoma. They have to deal with that bullshit on a daily basis.

How utterly depressing.