Hate crimes - more than just semantics

So, I've heard of holocaust deniers, Armenian genocide deniers, man-landing-on-the-moon deniers, global warming deniers and AIDS deniers, but this week I learned about a new type of denier: those who deny that Matthew Shepard's murder was a hate crime.

I guess I have Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) to thank for teaching me something new.

Ultimately, her perspective of Shepard's murder as the byproduct of a drug-induced robbery is not new. The theory has been around since 2004, when ABC News ran a 20/20 feature exploring the concept. But here is what is important about the alternative theory of the crime. It has been debunked. Roundly. And by one of the assailants, who fully and completely confessed he knew Shepard's orientation and intentionally lured him into the situation that resulted in his being beaten, tied to a fence post and left for dead. "Guess what? We're not gay. You're gonna get jacked," said Aaron McKinney, one of two men serving life in prison for the crime, to a police officer. Later jailhouse letters contained additional damning testimony.

But I digress. My main gripe today is with Foxx. "The bill was named after a very unfortunate incident that happened, where a young man was killed, but we know that this young man was killed in the commitment of robbery. It wasn't because he was gay ... it's, it's really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”



One can almost imagine the disgust in her voice.

I'd love the opportunity to share with her my disgust.

Obviously, Foxx was not going to be able to get away with this. With the media breathing down her neck and her own colleagues denouncing her statement ("Matthew Shepard's mother was in the gallery yesterday ... I'm sorry she had to be around to hear it," said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn). "And I'd tell [Foxx] that man did land on the moon and the moon wasn't made out of green cheese."). She would indeed issue an apology.

Or would she?

Well, by the letter of the law, yes, I suppose one could say she apologized. Twice even. But you know those backhanded apologies that aren't really apologies but are more like passive-aggressive insults wrapped in insincerity? Yeah, Foxx's apologies were like that.



"I am especially sorry if his grieving family was offended by my statement ... Referencing [the 20/20] media account may have been a mistake, but it was a mistake based on what I believed were reliable accounts," she said.

Wait, does it sound like she is actually sorry she hurt Shepard's family with her words or that she regurgitated an egregious lie in the halls of Congress?

Foxx followed up that non-apology with another non-apology. "Saying that the event was a hoax was a poor choice of words. I've apologized for that," she said.

That’s like when I tell my sister after an argument that I'm sorry she thinks I'm wrong. Yeah, maybe not the most sincere of apologies.

For her part, Judy Shepard is having none of it. She has responded publicly several times over the last week, including Tuesday, May 5, at an appearance at the University of Cincinnati, that she declined to accept the so-called apology. Foxx, Shepard said, was only apologizing for the words she used, not the sentiment behind them. “It was ridiculous and stupid, and she is paying for it,” Judy Shepard said of Foxx's statement.

Despite Foxx's statement, the Matthew Shepard Bill (officially The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, H.R. 1913) passed the House, 249-175. Cincinnati-area Rep. Jean Schmidt voted against the bill, while Steve Driehaus voted for the bill.

I am certain I will never understand the hatred and fear with which some people approach homosexuality.

After all, as Judy Shepard said Tuesday, "We are who we are. We love who we love."