Then only, will it become increasingly difficult for anyone to imagine that harassing or beating or killing a homosexual person is heroic, desirable or even excusable. We pray that never again will we be leading prayers of mourning for someone killed because of who he was or who she loved. We do not want to have to mourn for Jews killed as Jews. Nor do we want to have to mourn for people killed because of their religion, politics, race or sexual orientation. Neither do we as Jews and homosexuals as well as rabbis wish to be the next victims of such acts of terror.
Few people seek to become martyrs.
Surely Matthew Shepard did not. If we can imagine any good coming from his murder, let it be the good of change.