From D.C.-Twenty years ago, the world was horrified when it heard the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay man who died after being beaten and tied to a fence in a remote part of Wyoming.
“In some ways, Matthew’s death may have been even more important to our straight allies than our community itself, in the sense that it shows what happens when ‘Good people remain silent in the face of injustice,'” says Bishop Gene V. Robinson. “It serves as a symbol of the kind of senseless violence committed against our community simply because of who we are.”
Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church, praises Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy, for channeling their grief into advocacy, choosing to travel around the world urging tolerance, compassion, and respect for those who are different. By raising awareness of the LGBTQ community’s challenges, Robinson says they helped pave the way for later LGBTQ rights victories — from the end of the military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy to the legalization of same-sex marriage.
More here-
https://www.metroweekly.com/2018/10/matthew-shepard-interred-washington-national-cathedral/
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