HANSARD
SITTING CALENDAR
SEARCH
LIVE BROADCAST
Hansard Dynamic Subject Index
Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Third Session (51-3)
2008-10-15 Daily Xml
Contents
Pdf Xml

SHEPARD, MR M.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:48): Today I rise to remember Matthew Shepard and to talk about his legacy. Sunday marked a decade since Matthew died in Laramie, Colorado, the victim of a violent crime which put gay hate crimes at the forefront of the American consciousness and which then rippled around the world. Matthew was a victim of Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson; and he was a victim of a society that, in the words of his mother, 'allowed those men to think that it is okay to kill someone because they are gay; that taught them to think they'd even be applauded for ridding the world of another gay individual'.

Matthew was the first-born child of Dennis and Judy Shepard. Born in 1976, he had a passion to leave the world a better place than it was when he entered it. In describing his son, Dennis Shepard has written that the hope of a better world, free from harassment and discrimination because a person was different kept him motivated.

Matthew was studying political science, foreign relations and languages at the University of Wyoming, whilst also serving as the student representative for the Wyoming Environmental Council and participating in community theatre. Had his life not been cut short, who knows what Matthew may have achieved? On the evening of 6-7 October 1998, Matthew was at a pub when he was approached by two men who pretended to be gay and befriended the young man. Shortly after midnight on 7 October, they offered Matthew a ride home, but instead of that lift home McKinney and Henderson beat Matthew, tied him up and hoisted him on to a split rail fence. They made no effort to hide their crime: they displayed Matthew's broken body in a scene reminiscent of the lynchings of old.

His body was so battered that, when it was spotted by a cyclist some 18 hours after he was left there, he originally mistook the human form to be a scarecrow. The policewoman who arrived at the scene reported that the only parts of Matthew's face not covered in blood were the streams of white along his cheeks where his tears had fallen. Matthew never awoke from his coma. His injuries were so severe that doctors were unable to operate and he died with his parents by his side on 12 October 1998.

While McKinney and Henderson were charged with kidnapping and murder, neither man were charged with a hate crime because the state of Wyoming does not have legislation that covers gay hate crime. US federal laws do not cover sexuality-motivated crimes either, although it has been raised subsequently and is now known as the Matthew Shepard Act. Most recently, the bill passed both the house and the Senate, but President Bush let it be known that he would not sign it into law under any circumstances. Hopefully, the bill will be voted on again if Barack Obama, who has supported the legislation, is elected President of the United States.

McKinney and Henderson are now locked away. Henderson pled guilty and testified in McKinney's case in a deal to avoid the death penalty. McKinney was found guilty by a trial jury. As the jury was deliberating the death penalty for him, Matthew's parents Dennis and Judy brokered a deal whereby he, too, would escape the death penalty. It is inspiring that, from this instance of hatred, we have seen the manifestation of love. Determined that their eldest son's death would not be in vain, Dennis and Judy founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which seeks to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance through education, outreach and advocacy programs.

Rather than being frozen in grief after the death of their son, Dennis and Judy Shepard realised that our best defence against hatred is education and sought to make the world a better place than it was that night in Laramie. Through them, Matthew's desire to make the world a better place is being realised. But the reality is that sometimes we need more than just education: we need legislation to ensure that the rights of all are protected, and the fight for the Matthew Shepard Act to be signed into law testifies to this.

Let us not think that this is just an issue for the United States. Last month a Queensland man was found guilty by the state's anti-discrimination tribunal of inciting hatred against homosexuals after he displayed a bumper sticker that read 'The only rights gays have is the right to die'. Under current legislation in South Australia, inciting such hatred would be okay because we are still muddling our way to an improved Equal Opportunity Act. The upcoming equal opportunity legislation will go some way towards helping fairness become a reality for so many South Australians. We need to pass the amendments proposed by the government to our Equal Opportunity Act. It is time we brought that act up to date so that we, too, can claim that we are going some way towards Matthew's dream of making the world a fairer place.

PARLIAMENTARY BUSINESS
MEMBERS
GET INVOLVED
ABOUT PARLIAMENT
VISIT
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY
CONTACT