The Shepard family have become campaigners for gay rights. Politicians and celebrities pledged support and funding to combat anti-gay hate crime. The play The Laramie Project has toured the US and many other countries, telling Matthew’s story and encouraging campaigns against bigotry. As a result of Matthew’s death, many good things have happened for the gay community.
The attack became a cause célèbre: it precipitated a national backlash against hyper-macho culture and tacit tolerance of homophobia. They pistol whipped him with a gun then tied him to a fence in freezing conditions and set fire to him before leaving him to die. Matthew was beaten by two assailants, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson.
T he horrific killing of Matthew Shepard in 1998 is widely seen as one of the worst anti-gay hate crimes in American history.
