Families of Hate Crime Victims Unite at Rally

The families of hate-crime victims Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. appeared with Atty. Gen. Janet Reno on Saturday night as part of a campaign to persuade Congress to include attacks on gays and lesbians among federal hate crimes.

Shepard, a freshman at the University of Wyoming, was killed a year ago in what prosecutors said was an anti-gay attack. Byrd, a black man, was killed in June 1998 when three white supremacists dragged him behind their pickup truck near Jasper, Texas.

Gay rights advocates say the Byrd family’s presence was key to building support for the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which has been passed by the Senate and must still be considered by the House. Among other measures, which Reno endorsed, the bill would add “sexual orientation” to the description of categories to be protected under federal hate crime acts.

At a rallying dinner, Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group, praised the Byrd family for lending their support.

“When the Byrd family had the choice to stand with the gay and lesbian community . . . they made a moral decision,” Birch said.

Dennis Shepard, Matthew’s father, described how one year ago he walked into a hospital and saw the motionless body of his son.

“I did believe gay people experienced equal treatment before,” Shepard said. “I have never been so wrong in my life.”