Fan Forum - View Single Post - US Politics Discussion Thread #1 ~ Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave

**Cristofle** · 04-29-2009, 03:06 PM

A GOP Rep has claimed the story of Matthew Shepard's murder is a hoax.

Virginia Foxx: Story of Matthew Shepard's Murder A "Hoax" (VIDEO)

Quote:

As the House of Representatives debates an expansion of hate crimes legislation, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has taken the rhetoric to a new level, claiming that those who say Matthew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming for being gay are perpetrating a "hoax" on the American people.

"I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills," said Foxx.

A Foxx spokesman didn't immediately return a call. The Matthew Shepard "hoax" notion is a popular meme on right-wing blogs.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation is dedicated to reducing hate crimes.

The New York Times reported in 1998: "According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious."

"She should be ashamed," said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), himself a victim of a hate crime during the struggle for civil rights. "That is unreal, unbelievable. The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay."

UPDATE: Glenn Thrush has it that his mother may have been in the gallery when Foxx aired her theory.

"Matthew Shepard's mother was in the gallery yesterday and I believe she was back today -- so I'm sorry she had to be around to hear it," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told Thrush. "It's an urban myth... And I'd tell her that man did land on the moon and the moon wasn't made out of green cheese."

Just...*shakes head* This is why I find it so hard to take the Republican Party seriously. Here are still more comments about the bill.

Quote:

REP MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN): I feel that this hate crime legislation could be considered the very definition of tyranny.

REP. GRESHMAN BARRET (R-SC): This bill would inhibit religious freedom in our society -- a scary thought.

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): You think a pregnant mother does not deserve the protection of a homosexual? You think a military member doesn't deserve the protection of a transvestite?

REP. STEVE KING (R-IA): I, Mr. Speaker, oppose and I defy the logic of the people that would advocate for such legislation the very idea we could divine what goes on in the heads of people when they commit crimes

Religious freedom? WTF? It's about HATE CRIMES. Last time I checked, your religious freedom didn't entitle you to commit hate crimes.

ETA: I just noticed Foxx is from my state. How embarrassing.