Matthew Shepard Beaten: Catalyst for Gay Rights
Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson lured Matthew Shepard from a bar in Laramie, Wyoming, on October 6, 1998, drove him to a remote area, tied him to a fence post, pistol-whipped him, and left him to die in near-freezing temperatures. A cyclist found him 18 hours later, initially mistaking him for a scarecrow. Shepard died in a Fort Collins hospital on October 12, six days after the attack. He was 21 years old. His murder galvanized the gay rights movement and drew national attention to the absence of federal hate crime protections for sexual orientation. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law by President Obama in 2009, eleven years after Shepard's death.
October 7, 1998
28 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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