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Judy Shepard Is Not Giving Up

Judy tells us why Congress dropped the Matthew Shepard Act, what her next step will be, and how the 10-year anniversary of Matt's murder will not pass quietly.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted December 11, 2007
Judy Shepard Is Not Giving Up

Why is the Matthew Shepard Act a hard sell? You'd think a bill designed to protect minorities from violence would sail through Congress. Well, last week we discovered that's not the case, as House leaders dropped the legislation from a defense bill, saying it didn't have the votes to pass.

A little background: Our president has long vowed to veto the Matthew Shepard Act, legislation that would have protected LGBT people as well as disabled people from hate crimes. So to get around Bush, the Senate attached the bill to a military spending measure the president would have had difficulty saying no to. It passed the Senate, but when it got to the House -- which had previously passed a similar, stand-alone hate-crimes bill that is now in limbo -- it became clear that the newer bill didn't have the support it needed. Many liberal Democrats would have voted against the bill since it authorized war spending, and many conservative Republicans would have voted no because they don't want the current hate-crimes law changed (appeasing their constituencies, they claim). So the hate-crimes provision was stripped from the defense bill.

If it ever passes, the Matthew Shepard Act would give federal authorities greater leeway to participate in hate-crime investigations and step in if local authorities are unwilling or unable to act. The bill's death was a blow to Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, who sponsored the act, and Judy Shepard, mother of the slain gay man for whom the bill is named. Contacting The Advocate from outside the country, Judy expressed both sadness and optimism.

Of course you’re disappointed. Are you surprised about what happened with the bill?
You know, I am. I thought that once it went through the Senate, once it was attached to the defense bill, that it would not come out. In conference we knew [its removal] was a possibility because of the division in the House over the defense bill at large -- certain people, and other people not wanting the hate-crime bill no matter where it appears. So we knew there would be a discussion, but it never crossed my mind once that it would be yanked.

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Broverman is The Advocate's associate editor.

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