Matthew Shepard's death was a tragedy but there are more Americans killed every year by " illegal immigrants " than there are gays by so called hate crimes, by far ! Don't hear a peep from liberals !
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Oct 13, 9:03 pm, Tommy News <[email protected]> wrote: > *The Last Days of Matthew Shepard: October 13* > > * > My late friend Thomas Allen Heald sadly passed away last May. He was a > humorist, editor and writer, and I want to carry on his tradition of sending > out one of his works, "The Last Days of Matthew Shepard." > I do this to honor both Matthew Shepard and my friend Tom Heald. May they > both rest in peace and may we all learn a lasting lesson from the senseless > homophobic murder of Matthew Shepard. -Tommy News > I invite you to join our Matthew Shepard Pride and Tolerance Group > here:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MatthewShepardPrideandTolerance/ > > The Last Days of Matthew Shepard: October 13 > Around the world, this day in 1998: > > On NBC's "Today" show, Elizabeth Birch of the Human Rights Campaign > suggests that the Religious Right's $500,000 "Ex-gay" newspaper ad > campaign thus summer may have contributed to Matthew Shepard's death: > "It's caused a great deal of sadness and grieving and mourning in the > gay community. (These kinds of violent acts) never happen in a vacuum. > They happen because people's minds have been twisted with cruel > stereotypes about gay and lesbian people. And this ad campaign has been > pumped out all summer presenting gay and lesbian people as defective, as > being less than others, as not fully human. And young Matthew Shepard > made one mistake, and that's that he happened to fall into the path of > someone that had been fed this rhetoric and it came at him full of rage > and hate." > > --- > > Both The New York Times editorial board and U.S. Attorney General > Janet Reno voice their support for including homosexuality in a national > Hate Crimes Law: > "Matt Shepard spoke three languages or more. He seemed bright and > open and full of promise. We will never know what he would have done in > life. But in death, in a nation sickened by the gratuitous thuggery of > his murder, he may do much to dispel the stubborn belief in some > quarters that homosexuals are not discriminated against. They are. > Hatred can kill. The men accused of killing Matthew Shepard will be > tried for first-degree murder. But his death makes clear the need for > hate crime laws to protect those who survive and punish those who attack > others, whether fatally or not, just because of who they are." (NYT) > "Current federal law does not permit us to prosecute hate crimes > based on an individual's gender, disability or sexual orientation. I > urge Congress to pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act this week, which > would close the gap in the law." (Reno) > > --- > > The giant gay pride rainbow flag in San Francisco's Castro district > is lowered to half-staff. > > --- > > The University of Wyoming Athletics teams announce they will be > honoring Shepard at each game played this Autumn with symbols on their > uniforms "in an expression of the ideals of tolerance and diversity." > > The memorial logo, also being worn on campus in the form of armbands, > is a green circle (symbolizing peace) on a yellow background (signifying > non-violence). > > The UW Cowboys football team will wear the markings on their helmets, > while the women's Cowgirls programs will wear it as a hair ribbon. > > --- > > Anti-gay minister Fred Phelps announces his traveling circus will be > demonstrating at Shepard's funeral, and he's demanding the governor's > office protect his First Amendment rights to free speech, religion and > assembly. Government intervention is necessary, says Phelps, because > he's already received seven death threats as spread about his trip to > Wyoming. "We're not going to tolerate any violence from these > homosexuals. They are the most violent people in the world. Here they > are talking about what happened to this poor boy, and they turn around > and make death threats against us." > > Gov. Jim Geringer says he's just determined to keep things peaceful > at the Friday event since he legally can't stop the Westboro brigade > from a parking lot protest. Although he notes that the Phelps family's > presence is "just flat not welcome. What we don't need is a bunch of > wing nuts coming in." > > --- > > Candlelight vigils are held nationwide in Mr. Shepard's honor. Gay > leadership in Los Angeles deems him to be "a martyr to anti-gay hatred." > > === > "The Last Days of Matthew Shepard October 1998" © 2008 Thomas Allen > Heald. Sources: CNN, CBS College Sports Network, the US Department of > Justice, and Focus on the Family's CitizenLink. > > * > > -- > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time. > Have a great day, > Tommy -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
