[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 169 (Thursday, October 11, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S6793]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      REMEMBERING MATTHEW SHEPARD

  Mr. CASEY. Thank you, Mr. President. I rise to speak to commemorate 
the horrific death of Matthew Shepard 20 years ago. On October 7, 1998, 
Matthew Shepard, then a 21-year-old student at the University of 
Wyoming, was kidnapped, brutally beaten, and left tied to a fence in a 
field outside of Laramie, WY. He passed away 5 days later in a 
hospital.
  Matthew was attacked because of his sexual orientation. His murder 
was an act of pure evil, borne of hate.
  Since his passing, Matthew's family has worked to share his story in 
the hope that no other family suffers a similar tragedy. His parents, 
Judy and Dennis Shepard, started the Matthew Shepard Foundation to 
honor the life and aspirations of their son. Judy has made countless 
personal appearances around the country and around the world, sharing 
Matthew's story, to shine a light on the importance of supporting the 
LGBT community and eradicating hate. She has relived the horror of his 
death so that others may not ever know such pain.
  I had the opportunity in 2005 to meet Judy Shepard here in 
Washington, and I was impressed and inspired by her strength. The 
foundation that the Shepard family has organized has worked to end hate 
in all forms around the country, starting dialogues at schools, 
corporations, and communities to promote human dignity for all 
individuals. They have also provided an online resource center for LGBT 
youth, helped to create a dialogue about hate crimes through support 
for The Laramie Project, and helped to advocate for legislation to end 
hate crimes.
  Judy Shepard's work has been successful, and I think that is an 
understatement. Matthew Shepard's story has resonated with people 
across the country and inspired change, including the 2009 passage of 
the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 
which I was proud to cosponsor. This legislation added perceived 
gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability as protected 
classes under existing Federal hate crimes law.
  Though we made a great deal of progress over the last 20 years, there 
is still so much work to do. In 2016, 6,121 hate crime incidents were 
reported, and of these incidents, 1,076 were based on sexual 
orientation bias, and 124 were based on gender-identity bias.
  In order to help to stop this violence, I am the author of the Disarm 
Hate Act. This legislation would prevent those convicted of a violent 
misdemeanor hate crime or those who have received a hate crime sentence 
enhancement from buying or possessing a gun.
  It is critical that we work not only to address hate crimes but to 
stop the culture of violence or prejudice that often begins as bullying 
and harassment in our schools. According to a Human Rights Campaign 
report, LGBT youth are more than twice as likely--twice as likely--as 
non-LGBT youth to be physically attacked at school.
  Similarly, a report by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education 
Network found that four out of five LGBT students reported experiencing 
harassment frequently in school based on their appearance or perceived 
sexual orientation. That is why I have consistently introduced the Safe 
Schools Improvement Act, which would prohibit in K-12 schools bullying 
and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
  I am also a proud cosponsor of the Equality Act, a landmark civil 
rights bill that would amend existing civil rights laws to prohibit 
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity 
in education, employment, housing, credit, and Federal jury service.
  Matthew Shepard's life and death has inspired great change across our 
Nation over the last 20 years. His life continues to inspire me and so 
many others, so many Members of Congress, and, indeed, so many 
Americans to continue the fight against hate and violence in all its 
forms.
  We just read today, just hours ago, a story in the Washington Post 
which told us that Matthew Shepard's remains will be interred in the 
next couple of weeks inside the crypt at the National Cathedral here in 
Washington. May he rest in peace.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cassidy). The Senator from Louisiana.

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