On October 6th, 1998, Matthew Shepard was beaten, pistol-whipped, and tied to a fencepost outside Laramie, Wyoming. He died six days later in a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. During those six days and for 16 years afterward, the Matthew Shepard story became a guidepost for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights.
Over the years, closer examination of the details surrounding his death indicates his sexual preference did not necessarily play a significant role in the motives of his killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson.But the attack propelled the gay-rights movement on an unstoppable trajectory. Soon after Matthew’s death, Dennis and Judy Shepard started the Matthew Shepard Foundation. In 2009, Judy Shepard was there when President Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law.
Both Judy and Dennis were on hand earlier this month at the Dakotas Equality Summit in Rapid City. For this segment of Dakota Midday, we hear Judy Shepard answering questions from KEVN News reporter McKenzie Nelson and SDPB’s Victoria Wicks at a news conference in a hotel meeting room.
