For this post, I decided to focus on a significant event. This event being President Obama signing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law on October 28, 2009. This law makes it a federal crime to assault an individual based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. This law was named due to the deaths of Matthew Shepard, a young gay Wyoming teenage who was murdered after being kidnapped and severely beaten, and James Byrd Jr., and African American man who was dragged to death by the bumper of a tuck in Texas in 1998. Both of these crimes were devistations to the LGBTQ+ community and are another stain on the history of this country. After the signing of the document into law Obama said, “help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray.” Although the passing of this bill into law cannot bring back the lives of all those that have passed due to hate crimes and their injustice; this law was at least a recognition that a change needed to happen. If we wish to see change in our communities and lives, we have to vote and elect individuals that share our same values. May all died in the name of hate, may they never be forgotten.
#LGBTQExperiencesUSA #hatecrimeawareness #matthewshepard #jamesbyrdjr
