“The Meaning of Matthew” is a true story written by Judy Shepard about her 21-year-old gay son who was murdered in Laramie, Wyoming, on October 12, 1998. The beginning of the book talks about Matt, the boy she raised, who grew up to become not only his father’s hero but a symbol to the world of what hate can do. Matt wasn’t a saint, as Judy goes on to point out. He had his fair share of problems and growing pains. He was depressed and suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. He was constantly on the move, searching for something and going from therapist to therapist in the hope that maybe one might be able to really help him.
One night while at a bar, he met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. They kidnapped him, robbed him, and beat him. He was left tied to a fence for 18 hours before he was finally rescued, but it was too late for him. His wounds were too severe. Days later, surrounded by his family, Matt died. Upon questioning, the two men admitted they assaulted Matt because he was gay and was trying to flirt with McKinney.
His death affected many lives. As a result his mother, Judy, started the Matthew Sheppard Foundation in hopes to prevent what happened to her son happening to anyone else.
On October 22, the Matthew Shepard Act (also known as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act) was passed in Congress. The President has said he will sign the bill as soon as it reaches his desk. The Act would extend the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.
In 2001 Elton John wrote a song called “American Triangle” about Matthew. A line in it says, “God hates fags where we come from.” At first the line made me cringe, but when I think about it I realize God isn’t the one doing the hating. It is the people who think that way.