Lest we forget, in the communal excitement and debriefing over the National Equality March: Today marks eleven years since the death of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard after a brutal gay bashing. His mother Judy Shepard, one of the LGBT community’s staunchest advocates, spoke at the March yesterday:
I had the honor of meeting Judy Shepard once, before I was a mother myself. Even then, I was astounded by her strength in the face of tragedy. Now I am even more awed at how she and her husband Dennis have channeled their unfathomable personal grief into something so positive, working to “replace hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance.” Stop by the Matthew Shepard Foundation site to see what they are doing to make the world a better place for all our children, and how you can help.
It would be fitting tribute—though no real recompense for their loss—if the U.S. Senate followed the House and voted this week to pass the FY 2010 Defense Authorization bill, with the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act attached.
After the jump, in case you missed it—Judy Shepard on Ellen:
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