Congress passed a unanimous resolution condemning that attack as a hate crime. Something's different here. The difference is that Americans, for all their newfound support, all their supposed permissiveness, still debate the rights of gays and lesbians, still question our very right to exist. The Wyoming legislature debated expanded hate-crimes legislation last February. It would have made crimes against people because of sexual orientation, like Shepard's murder, punishable by additional jail time.
Murder is something people consider sinful, too.
By not passing this legislation, the message sent is that if a crime like this murder discourage homosexual behavior, then it's worth it. This isn't about homosexual behavior. A certain percentage of people have engaged in homosexual behavior since we came down from the trees, and no law is going to change that. What's changed is that gays and lesbians are no longer content to keep their lives in the shadows, to stay quiet about such an important part of their life. I'm tired of being quiet.