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Matthew Shepard: The murder that changed America
BBC News ^ | 25th October 2018 | Jude Sheerin

Posted on 10/26/2018 9:33:46 AM PDT by Ennis85

The death of a gay student, tortured and tied to a prairie fence in Wyoming two decades ago, shocked America. As Matthew Shepard's ashes are interred in the nation's spiritual home, those who knew him reflect on his remarkable legacy.

It was the dental brace.

That's how Judy and Dennis Shepard knew it was their son in the hospital bed.

"Bandages and stitches all over his face," Judy says, "and bandages around his head where the final blow had crushed his brain stem.

"His fingers and toes were curled in a comatose position already. Tubes everywhere enabling his body to stay alive.

"One of his eyes was partially open so you could see his blue eyes and the tubes in his mouth. You could see his braces, so of course it's Matt.

"His face was swollen, actually kind of unrecognisable till you got closer."

Two nights earlier, on Tuesday 6 October 1998, Matthew Shepard walked alone into a dive bar in Laramie.

The openly gay University of Wyoming freshman had just met up with friends to plan LGBT awareness week on the town's campus.

But he couldn't persuade them to join him for a beer afterwards.

At the Fireside Lounge, the 21-year-old somehow ended up chatting to two roofing workers, Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, both the same age as him.

The pair saw an easy mark in the 5ft 2in, slightly built student.

Albany County Sheriff Dave O'Malley, who was lead investigator in the case, says: "McKinney's own statement said he and Russell went into the bathroom at the Fireside bar and they planned to act like they were gay to try to gain Matthew's confidence.

"And so the sexual orientation issue started right at the beginning of that contact."

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: gay; homosexual; homosexualagenda; matthewshepard; murder
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1 posted on 10/26/2018 9:33:46 AM PDT by Ennis85
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To: Ennis85

Drug deal gone bad.


2 posted on 10/26/2018 9:34:19 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
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To: Ennis85

GRRRRRRRRRR! Truth has NO place in the msm.


3 posted on 10/26/2018 9:35:31 AM PDT by rktman (Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: Ennis85

I demand that Trayvon be buried right next to him.


4 posted on 10/26/2018 9:36:14 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: Ennis85

Murdered by former gay lover in drug deal gone bad.


5 posted on 10/26/2018 9:36:45 AM PDT by G Larry (There is no great virtue in bargaining with the Devil)
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To: Ennis85

"...that changed America..."


It was unfortunate for that kid, for sure, yet I do not believe it meaningfully changed our nation.

6 posted on 10/26/2018 9:36:57 AM PDT by Blue Jays ( Rock hard ~ Ride free)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

It really, really was a drug deal gone bad.
One of the 2 new him “intimately”, the other just knew him.
He was a drug runner between Wyoming and Colorado.
Read ‘Book of Mark’. It is very well sourced.


7 posted on 10/26/2018 9:39:50 AM PDT by Verbosus (/* No Comment */)
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To: Ennis85

News is basically fiction now.


8 posted on 10/26/2018 9:40:00 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy (If White Privilege is real, why did Elizabeth Warren lie about being an Indian?)
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To: Ennis85

Agitprop revisionist history

As are Lawrence v Texas and the Pulse massacre.


9 posted on 10/26/2018 9:40:13 AM PDT by a fool in paradise (Denounce DUAC - The Democrats Un-American Activists Committee)
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To: Blue Jays

What I didn’t like was the painting of red America as murderers of gays.


10 posted on 10/26/2018 9:40:20 AM PDT by DIRTYSECRET (urope. Why do they put up with this.)
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To: Ennis85

Atrocious as this act was, this dredging up the past to smear recent proposed legislation is sick and wrong.

Lamestream media once again doing liberal’s dirty work.


11 posted on 10/26/2018 9:41:03 AM PDT by chief lee runamok (mongrel at large)
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To: Ennis85

“nation’s spiritual home”

More total propaganda b.s. The so-called “National Cathedral” is an EPISCOPAL cathedral and it is a false pretense to try to pretend it represents our nation.

It is true that Congress and some Presidents have given unwarranted attention to this place due to its name, but it is in no way a “national” cathedral and should not be allowed to continue in such misrepresentations.

Neither other Protestant denominations nor Roman Catholics (nor other religions) should recognize this place has having any “national” status any more than every other religious structure located in Washington, DC.

None of them are the “spiritual home” for the entire nation.


12 posted on 10/26/2018 9:45:22 AM PDT by Trump_the_Evil_Left (FReeper formerly known as Enchante (registered Sept. 5, 2001), back from the wild....)
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To: Ennis85

another false story like Trey Trey and Big Cuddly michael Brown.


13 posted on 10/26/2018 9:46:04 AM PDT by morphing libertarian (Use Comey's Report; Indict Hillary now. --- Proud Smelly Walmart Deplorable)
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To: Ennis85

Fake news.


14 posted on 10/26/2018 9:48:55 AM PDT by fieldmarshaldj ("It's Slappin' Time !")
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

“Drug deal gone bad.”

Exactly the truth. How can the myth/narrative of the gay martyr continue unchallenged for years?

That doesn’t excuse his death at all. Murderers should all spend life in prison (at the least), regardless of the race, color, ethnicity, age or gender of their victims.


15 posted on 10/26/2018 9:57:09 AM PDT by oldplayer
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To: Ennis85

I thought this pervert died when a drug deal went bad.


16 posted on 10/26/2018 9:59:51 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer (The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.)
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To: Ennis85

NOT hung from a fence.

NOT targeted cuz he was gay.

NOT targeted by straight people.

NOT targeted by bigoted people.

NOT innocent at all.


17 posted on 10/26/2018 10:01:10 AM PDT by gaijin
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To: Blue Jays

In retrospect it changed America but not the way they think (i.e. about gay rights). It was a test case that proved that the MSM could lie and make up any kind of story they wanted, sweeping the actual facts under the carpet, and get away with it. Rather than reporting what was true (drug deal gone bad) they turned it into gay martyrdom.

In that respect it was the beginning of Fake News.


18 posted on 10/26/2018 10:04:01 AM PDT by bigbob (Trust Sessions. Trust the Plan.)
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To: Ennis85

Pretty good for a drug deal gone bad.


19 posted on 10/26/2018 10:07:14 AM PDT by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: Ennis85

Isn’t this the guy who was murdered by his bisexual drug dealer with whom he sometimes exchanged sex for drugs?


20 posted on 10/26/2018 10:11:53 AM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum (Democracy dies when Democrats refuse to accept the result of a democratic election they didn't win.)
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