Remembering…..A Tribute to Matthew Shepard
October 6, 2008 by James Hipps · Leave a Comment
It was ten years ago Today that an openly gay Wyoming college student by the name of Matthew Shepard was found tied to a fence, after being savagely beaten and left stranded. The beating was so brutal that a description of his injuries, even a decade later, is hard to imagine and difficult to listen to. Five days later, he was dead.
“His head trauma consisted of a massive blow to the right side of his head,” Rulon Stacey of Poudre Valley Hospital told reporters at the time. “It fractured his skull from behind his head in a horizontal fashion to in front of his right ear.”
The Laramie Police ruled it a hate crime. An international outcry for tougher hate crime laws came shortly after.
In 2007, HR 1952, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act was introduced by Sen. Edward Kennedy. The bill would expand the1969 US Federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. The bill passed the senate, but was ultimately dropped due to opposition from conservative groups, such as the American Family Association and President George W. Bush. John McCain was absent and did not vote on this bill!
Frank Throws Romney Under The Bus
August 14, 2008 by James Hipps · 1 Comment
The Democratic Party enlisted Congressman Barney Frank today to spindle fellow Bay Stater Mitt Romney in its series of conference calls to skewer potential Republican vice presidential picks.
Romney has been one of John McCain’s most enthusiastic surrogates, promoting McCain’s positions and blasting Democrat Barack Obama.
Frank, however, called Romney the “most intellectually inconsistent politician” he has ever known, citing the former Massachusetts governor’s changes of position on abortion, gay rights, and other issues.
Romney ran against Senator Edward M. Kennedy from the left in 1994, was a moderate as governor, and moved further to the right during the Republican primaries, showing the right wing’s “strong grip” on the party, Frank said.
Get more on this from boston.com.
