October 9, 2008

Judy Shepard, Task Force Send Same Message: Ten Years, No Progress, Countless Victims

Have you ever wondered…

If the Mormon church had chosen to leverage tens of millions of dollars, countless man hours, and untold energy into promoting a campaign of peace, tolerance, and nonviolence — instead of pouring its vast resources into eliminating equal rights for gay people in California — how many lives might they might have saved?

From the Task Force:

Ten Years. Thousands Victimized. Not Enough Action.

Sunday, Oct. 12, marks the 10-year anniversary of the brutal death of Matthew Shepard, and many states and the federal government have yet to enact hate crimes protections covering both sexual orientation and gender identity. This, despite the fact that thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have been the targets of hate-based violence in the decade since Shepard’s murder, according to statistics from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP).

Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund

“Ten years ago, the shocking murder of Matthew Shepard sent a national clarion call for stronger federal laws to combat crimes motivated by hate. Since then, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have continued to fall victim to hate-stoked violence in shocking numbers. Despite this epidemic of anti-LGBT violence, the federal government has refused to enact a hate crimes law covering sexual orientation and gender identity. This shameful failure of national will and resolve must end in 2009 with a new president and a new Congress.

“Today, we remember and mourn Matthew Shepard. We also remember other young people whose voices fell silent this past year. We mourn Ashley Sweeney of Detroit, Mich., shot to death in February 2008; we mourn Lawrence King of Oxnard, Calif., shot to death in his middle-school classroom in February 2008; we mourn Simmie Williams Jr. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., shot to death in February 2008; and we mourn Angie Zapata of Greeley, Colo., beaten to death with a fire extinguisher in July 2008. We remember and mourn all victims of hate violence, but especially these and other young gender-nonconforming people, who died in the hope of freedom to live their lives as they wished.”

Assessment of progress during the past 10 years

Currently, 31 states and D.C. have hate crimes laws that track or make illegal crimes motivated by sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression. However, by the time of Matthew Shepard’s death in 1998, 23 of these 31 states had already passed their laws. Since his death 10 years ago, only eight states have added hate crimes protections (Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, Tennessee and Texas). In 19 states, there are no hate crime laws protecting anyone in the LGBT community.

On the federal level, champions in both the House and Senate have continued to prioritize passage of legislation that would expand and strengthen federal hate crimes legislation. In the 110th Congress, both chambers with bipartisan majorities passed the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act as a free-standing bill in the House and an amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization Act in the Senate. This is the first time both chambers have considered a bill that included both gender identity and sexual orientation. However, strategic and procedural problems prevented Congress from sending a bill to President George Bush, who promised to veto the bill if it did reach that point.

Epidemic of anti-LGBT violence

LGBT people are disproportionately affected by hate violence. Reports produced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (1984-1993) and the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (1994-2007) have documented more than 35,000 anti-LGBT crimes over the last two decades. It is important to note that these statistics are based on reports from only a handful of local LGBT crime victim assistance agencies. Inclusion of transgender people in hate crimes laws is especially important because violence against transgender people is widespread, largely underreported, and disproportionately greater than the number of transgender people in society. The total number of victims reporting anti-LGBTQ violence to NCAVP in 2007 was 2,430, which represents a 24 percent increase over the total number of victims reported in 2006.

The Task Force has led the movement-wide effort to secure an effective and full governmental response to hate crimes against LGBT people, beginning with the launch of its groundbreaking anti-violence project in 1982. Task Force organizing, coalition building and lobbying resulted in the 1990 passage of the Hate Crimes Statistics Act, sponsored by U.S. Rep. John Conyers.

From Judy Shepard:

Ten Years of Change — No Progress

Hello my friends,

It’s hard to believe that it has been ten years since Matthew’s death. So much has changed yet so much remains the same. I want to thank all of you for your unwavering support for the Foundation. I know that you understand our work is far from over. I don’t mean the work of the Foundation exclusively I mean the work we all need to do at a personal level. We need to continue talking to our friends, families and co-workers. Unless we are honest about who we are and are able to share with those who love us what our lives are like, they will not know how to help us. We need those allies in this struggle to achieve equality across the board to realize all of our civil rights.

Great advances have been made in changing people’s attitudes and eliminating ignorance about the gay community even in my wonderful state of Wyoming. At least I thought so, until I read the readers’ comments following an article about the ten year observance of Matt’s death in the Cheyenne, Wyoming newspaper.

I understand that the readers who take the time to write in are doing so because they absolutely disagree with the article and those who do agree won’t bother to write comments. However, it brought home to me how much work is left to do to make the world an accepting place. The level of ignorance is astounding. The continuing belief that what happened to Matt was not a hate crime and the notion that ‘special people shouldn’t have special rights’, is beyond my comprehension. The level of ‘hate’ is frightening.

The Foundation staff is very committed to doing all they can to ensure the message — ‘erase hate’ — is one that is known to the community and its allies as well as those who are trying learn more about the Foundation and the LGBT community at large. It is ignorance that ultimately results in hate and that may escalate into physical violence. The only way to combat the ignorance is to educate and tell our stories.

We are all aware of how important this election cycle is to all of us. Please take the time to know the issues and what is at stake for the LGBT community. Share your stories with those who care about you. It is the only way they will know how to vote to support you.

The privilege of having the right to vote is also a responsibility. We must remember that we are not voting only for a new President but also for representatives at the local, county, state and national level. Please vote and encourage everyone you know to vote. Apathy is unacceptable. We are at a cross roads in the movement and we need to show our support for those who support the LGBT community. We are all hoping the next ten years will be our time.

If you wish to learn more about the Foundation and the work we are doing now, please visit www.MatthewShepard.org or www.MatthewsPlace.com.

Thank you again for being a part of what we do.

Sincerely,

Judy Shepard