A Republican lawmaker has enraged supporters of "hate crimes" legislation for suggesting that the horrible murder of Matthew Shepard was not motivated by anti-homosexual bigotry.
Congresswoman Virginia Foxx (R-North Carolina) drew the ire of homosexual activists and other supporters of hate crimes legislation last week when she suggested that the tragic 1998 murder of college student Matthew Shepard was not a hate crime. "We know that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay," Foxx said on the House floor. "The bill was named for him -- the hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills." Foxx later apologized for using the word "hoax," and said it "may have been a mistake" to reference two media accounts that reported robbery was the motive for the Shepard murder. In 2004, Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News reported that one of the lead investigators in the Shepard case believed robbery was the primary motive. Former Laramie Police detective Ben Fritzen told Vargas, "Matthew Shepard's sexual preference or sexual orientation certainly wasn't the motive in the homicide." Peter LaBarbera, president of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, says the idea that Shepard was brutally murdered "just because he was gay" is a myth. "I think it's sad that Matthew Shepard's case continues to be exploited by homosexual activists. Even in schools there's the 'Laramie Project,' which is a pro-homosexual play which sort of builds on the Matthew Shepard myth. That's still used today to advance the hate crimes concept," he contends. "I think his case, again, proves that homosexual activists in this politically correct environment get greater attention than any other victim."
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