Judy Shepard

In the words of Judy Shepard, Matt’s mother, “Go home, give your kids a hug, and don’t let a day go by without telling them you love them.”

An iconic voice of the LGBT rights movement is joining the chorus denouncing the increasingly reviled Republican candidate.

NEW YORK — The parents of Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyoming college student tortured and murdered in 1998, are traveling to Russia on Friday to spread their message of tolerance and acceptance in a country where anti-gay policies and attitudes are widespread. The centerpiece of their five-day trip is a gay film festival in St. Petersburg at …

DENVER — Jason Collins had plenty of gifts for Matthew Shepard’s parents: a basket, a blowout, an autographed No. 98 jersey that he wears in honor of their son. They also shared some laughs.

On this 15th anniversary of the murder of Matthew Shepard, filmmaker Michele Josue — a high school classmate and close friend of Matthew’s — brings to the screen the story of the life, death, and lasting legacy of Matthew Shepard, a young gay man with aspirations to one day change the world.

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The mother of a gay University of Wyoming student who was robbed and beaten to death in 1998 says she finds it touching that NBA veteran Jason Collins honored her son by wearing jersey No. 98.

On October 7, 1998, Aaron Kreifels was riding his bike through a field in Wyoming. He wasn’t expecting that day to be different from any other beautiful sunny afternoon in the vast plains surrounding Laramie, but that day would change many lives. Aaron spotted what he initially thought was a scarecrow next to a fence. Then he noticed a glisten of blood. The sun sparkled on what he barely recognized as a face. Aaron had discovered 22 year-old Matthew Shepard, clinging to life.

On October 7, 1998, Aaron Kreifels was riding his bike through a field in Wyoming. He wasn’t expecting that day to be different from any other beautiful sunny afternoon in the vast plains surrounding Laramie, but that day would change many lives. Aaron spotted what he initially thought was a scarecrow next to a fence. […]

Dennis and I and the Matthew Shepard Foundation join millions of Americans in and out of uniform today in applauding the United States Senate. It took truly principled action in finally ending the military’s obsolete and discriminatory ban on gay service members serving their country in the military.

Matthew Shepard was brutally assaulted on a lonely ridge overlooking Laramie, Wyoming twelve years ago this month. And on this day in 1998, he died while in a coma in a Fort Collins, CO, hospital with his family by his side. Much has changed. Much has not.