For the past fifteen years, Dennis and Judy Shepard have transformed the senseless tragedy of their son Matthew’s death into fuel for passionate activism promoting gay rights and protections. Now, that journey is leading them to Russia, where they hope to share their story and talk with parents of LGBT youth.
They’ll first attend a screening of Matthew Shepard is a Friend of Mine at the Side by Side Film Festival in St. Petersburg. The festival stands in defiant opposition to local anti-gay sentiments by promoting LGBT tolerance, and has to skirt around the country’s “anti-propaganda” laws.
The film’s director, Michelle Jouse, said that by screening the film in the United States, “We’ve been preaching to the choir. It’s important to get our film seen by a community that didn’t have access to it.”
“Putin has made it so unhealthy to be LGBT or an ally,” Dennis Shepard told the AP. “It will take at least a generation to clean up the mess he’s made and get some acceptance.”
From St. Petersburg they’ll travel to Moscow and meet with gay youth and their families.
We wish them all a safe and productive trip.
Here’s the trailer for the film:
1EqualityUSA
Stop by Washington D.C. on your way to the hinterlands. Thank you for helping.
Scribe38
All my love, prayers, and hope to this family. I was barely an adult when their son was taken and it inspired me to come out and be more open about who I was. R.I.P Matthew you are loved.
Tackle
Well the sanctification continues. While in Russia, I hope they speak of the dangers of drug use. ” Just saying.”
Hermes
@Tackle: So buddy, who is paying you to post lies and insult the dead, hmmm? I’ve never done any drug – including pot — I’ve never been drunk, and I’ve never used tobacco — my partner and I have been together for decades and we have children – thank you. I hold a terminal degree – I prefer not to list my AoS — my partner is a chemist. I am not a lawyer – but I know how to parse evidence pretty well – and I’ve read the sad pathetic piece that you are trying to indirectly reference and push — its crap — not one bit of it with its anonymous sources and 3rd or 4th hand information would ever pass muster in a court of law – and you know what that means buddy — it means its garbage, worthless — so, who again is it that is giving you money to besmirch anything positive that might come out of a senseless murder? Or is it just the usual self-destructive tendencies many self-hating gay people evidence…. or are you…. oh I don’t know —- not gay at all and actually a homophobe??? Inquiring minds want to know.
And oh, btw — its too late for All Saints Day, but I’ll repeat it anyway – as it is repeated in many Episcopal parishes around the country…:
Blessed Matthew Shepard pray for us.
Have a good day with your bitterness, I’ll have mine with joy thanks.
Stache99
@Tackle: What are saying? Just because Mathew did drugs he deserved what he got? I read all about that btw. Some loser writer without a shred of proof just wanted to make a name for himself. Anyone that buys into that is just a homophobic asshole.
Stache99
@Tackle: Good to know that you agree with all the hate groups though.
mick4reg
Please, Please Be Careful
Russia is a Hard Place for Gays right now and even for those speaking up for Gays it can be seriously a hateful place,,,
Please Watch Out,,,
DarkZephyr
@Tackle: you felt utterly compelled to be “that guy”, huh?
Saint Law
@Tackle: There’s nowt wrong with you your suicide wouldn’t cure. “Just saying”.
aliengod
@Tackle:That’s what I was thinking. Wasn’t this kid a crackhead? How did he become such a hero to the cause?
Billysees
“Putin has made it so unhealthy to be LGBT or an ally,…It will take at least a generation to clean up the mess he’s made and get some acceptance.”…Dennis Shepard told the AP.
How true.
DarkZephyr
@aliengod: who said he was a hero? He is a victim and a symbol.
Damich
Good luck to them because I know many parents including my own wouldn’t go to such great distances to validate my life. That’s quite noble (or stupid) of them to risk arrest by Russian authorities. While I’ve never been there it’s easy to envision it as a vast cold baron wasteland of grey negativity and sadness. The gay propaganda law simply puts a cherry on a frozen ice cake of hell.
Tackle
@Hermes: Funny how someone can take a story about Matthew Shepards parents taking a trip to Russia, and turn it into a mini boi about themselves, and their life: Ok…
And to the other Kool-Aid drinkers here, I have never read the book that you are referring to. And I’m not saying that because Matthew did drugs and was a dealer of drugs (meth)(this is not from some writer who wrote a book 16-yrs later, but according to his ex, and many friends and acquaintances, who partied and did drugs with Matthew) that he or “anyone” deserves to die, or be killed the way Matthew was.
However pretending that drugs did not play a role, ( I believe they did)directly or indirectly is being disingenuous. Ignoring Matthew’s drug use will do nothing to help the many young men who are ravaged by drugs and addiction: and could serve as a warning about the unsavory characters you will bring into your life.This is not to tarnish Matthew, but to tell the truth. Which adults can handle??
And many here who are so up in arms. If this would have happened to a fat unattractive gay guy. A black, Asian or non-White Hispanic/Latino: Or an elderly gay man, you wouldn’t so much as raise a bleep. You feel compassion, sympathy and empathy for Matthew because to many, he looks right.
And for that, your sh!t stinks worse than mine…
abnerbha
@Tackle: Metthew Wayne Shepard (1976-1998) was not the innocent as he has been portrayed by Laramie Project or films like Shepard is a Friend of Mine. Metthew Wayne Shepard was a junky who assoc. with drug dealers in both Colorado & Wyoming, was possibly a drug dealer himself (Methew Wayne Shepard could also possibly have been a drug courier or a lookout, but whether or not he was a drug dealer he did assoc. with drug dealers) & when he was 15 years old, he was arrested for molesting 2 boys & he got counseling by Natrona County Juvenile Court for molesting 2 boys. Metthew Wayne Shepard had himself been a victim of child molestation by 3 different people when he was a boy & if he had not been a victim of homosexual pedophiles would he have turned out straight instead of gay? JUDY L. SHEPARD AND HER OTHER SON LOGAN P. SHEPARD ARE BOTH FAT & THEY GOT FAT GETTING RICH FROM EXPLOITING THEIR SON AND BROTHER FOR MONEY
abnerbha
@Stache99: I called Judy L. Shepard on May 6, 2015 @ her home. Dennis picked up (I spoke to him on November 3, 2014 to tell him his son was a child molester & drug dealer) & I asked for Judy after which he gave to Judy. I then told Judy Lynn Shepard that Methew Shepard was a child molester & drug junky after which she told me to get a life and hung up. I told the ugly truth of what her son was-a child molester & a drug junky. Homosexual groups have been trying to keep Stephen Jimenez’s Book of Matt from being sold. Honest discussion is discussing & rebutting-not censoring because 1 finds something offensive.
abnerbha
@Tackle: Homosexual groups have been trying to keep Stephen Jimenez’s Book of Matt from being sold. Honest discussion is discussing & rebutting-not censoring because 1 finds something offensive.
Let’s look @ what we do know about Methew W. Shepard. No matter why the murder happened, the idea that A.J. McKinney and Methew W. Shepard were strangers who did not know eachother until that day is rubbish. There are many witnesses-Doc O’ Connor’s ex girlfriend, Elaine Baker (bartender), M.K. Rohrbacher (drug dealer), Tristan (Ted) Henson (Methew W. Shepard’s former lover) & others who saw them together. Even if 1 believes the murder was motivated by hatred of homosexuals, it is truth that A.J. McKinney and Methew W. Shepard knew eachother though A.J. McKinney denies it. There are too many witnesses who saw both men together.
I haven’t plead his 2 killers cases other than say that the 2nd man R.A. Henderson should have gotten a jury trial & a jury should have decided what to convict him on. Prosecutor could argue why it’s Murder 1, defense can argue why it’s lesser charge of 2nd Degree Murder or Manslaughter & then jury decides-that is as far as I go with his case is saying he should have gotten a jury trial. R.A. Henderson’s case should be reviewed again on appeal because he wanted a jury trial.
I don’t think Methew W. Shepard should have been killed but it is truth that Methew W. Shepard molested 8 year old boys and got counseling for this when he was 15 years old-Stephen Jimenez incidentally mentioned this near end of book-he interviewed a Casper Wyoming cop and a relative of 1 of victims. But Judy L. Shepard and the Shepard Foundation omits this ugly truth of Methew W. Shepard being a child molester and it would not surprise me if ex Casper Star Tribune journalists Tiffany C. Hunt, Kerry A. Drake and JC Marsden know this but left this out in that I find it hard to believe these 3 Casper Wyoming journalists did not know about Methew W. Shepard molesting 8 year old boys when he was 15 years old because Stephen Jimenez found this in court records and again, Stephen Jimenez incidentally mentioned this near end of book as most of the book was about the 3 people, A.J. McKinney’s problems, Methew W. Shepard’s life and problems and of course the drug problems.
Methew W. Shepard associating with drug dealers in both Wyoming and Colorado is not disputable. Methew W. Shepard went into bars where drugs were sold and he did associate with drug dealers-we know that he went to bars named Tornado, Ranger, Library & other bars in Wyoming and Colorado where drugs were sold. Methew W. Shepard’s friend Tina LaBrie expressing concerns about Methew W. Shepard’s drug and $ problems. We know that Methew W. Shepard was having $ problems (spending so much on limosuine rides in Doc O’ Connor’s limousine).
Now was Methew W. Shepard’s assocation with drug dealers and going into bars where drugs were sold more than buying drugs ? Was Methew W. Shepard a drug dealer or a drug courier? Stephen Jimenez thinks so and he believes it was the Denver circle. No, Stephen Jimenez does not know it all but his conclusions are sincere and honest. While homosexual groups complain about Stephen Jimenez saying the murder case is complicated and possibly not a hate crime, that is incidental-main reason homosexual groups are offended by Stephen Jimenez’s book is because he talked about the ugly truths about who M.W. Shepard was. You don’t always know the secrets friends and family have. If a person is a drug dealer, then they are usually not going to tell their friends and family that they do this.
Even if Metthew W. Shepard did tell his friends and family that he sold drugs, don’t think his family will admit this ugly truth about him, as they hide the fact that Methew Wayne Shepard molested 8 year old boys and got counseling for it. Laramie Project, Shepard Foundation & Big Island Chronicle Tiffany Camille Hunt sees nothing wrong with Methew W. Shepard selling drugs and molesting children so their view is rubbish.
abnerbha
Spoke with Heather Ann Feeney on September 2, 2015. She works for Idaho Bureau of Land Management. When I told her ugly truths of Methew W. Shepard being a drug junky who possibly was a drug dealer, along with facts about Methew W. Shepard molesting 2 boys when he was 15 years old which he got counseling for, Heather Ann Feeney talked of how she doesn’t work in media anymore, that it was a long time ago & that she now works for Federal Govt.-admit I got rude by calling Heather A. Feeney menopausal. Heather Ann Feeney does vigil for a child molester & drug junky Methew W. Shepard, who possibly was a drug dealer.
Heather Ann Feeney-there should be a vigil for the boys who Methew W. Shepard molested when he was 15 years old & got counseling for. Must wonder the drugs Heather Ann Feeney uses, as Methew W. Shepard wasn’t a nice man as Heather A. Feeney implies. In August 1998, 2 months before his death, Methew W. Shepard falsely accused a Cody bartender of sex abuse, after the bartender DEFENDED himself. Methew W. Shepard was drunk (possibly high on drugs)that night, was harassing the bartender to have sex with him in a parking lot & bartender hit him in sel-defense. It’s a crime to have sex in parking lots. Methew W. Shepard was a junky who used Meth & other drugs like cocaine, pot, etc. in addition to anti-depressants so he was a junky. Methew W. Shepard’s a drunkard, junky who took Meth.
Heather Ann Feeney politely said that she no longer works in media & guess she doesn’t like that some of us find ugly truths she & other journalists left out when they covered Methew W. Shepard. Heather A. Feeney knows that while she’s no longer a journalist, when she comments on cases such as Methew W. Shepard, there will be some who will tell ugly truths she left out. Guess also that Heather A. Feeney’s so used to getting those who accept what most media says about Methew W. Shepard, that when people call her to tell ugly truths media about Methew W. Shepard, she doesn’t want to talk because she doesn’t know how to reply to people who don’t share her thinking & tell facts she left out.
We should care more about the 2 boys who Methew W. Shepard molested because getting murdered doesn’t change truth that Methew W. Shepard was a child molester, drug junky & possibly a drug dealer. We will use our free speech right to tell ugly truths about Methew Wayne Shepard which Heather Ann Feeney & other journalists omit, esp. when Heather Ann Feeney does a vigil for a child molester & drug junky Methew W. Shepard. Heather Ann Feeney thinks it’s OK for gays to molest children & possibly Heather Ann Feeney is a drug junky as Heather Ann Feeney cares so much for child molester, drug junky Methew W. Shepard who possibly was a drug dealer himself.
I haven’t plead his 2 killers cases other than say that the 2nd man R.A. Henderson should have gotten a jury trial & a jury should have decided what to convict him on. Prosecutor could argue why it’s Murder 1, defense can argue why it’s lesser charge of 2nd Degree Murder or Manslaughter & then jury decides-that is as far as I go with his case is saying he should have gotten a jury trial. R.A. Henderson’s case should be reviewed again on appeal because he wanted a jury trial.
Let’s look @ what we do know about Methew W. Shepard. No matter why the murder happened, the idea that A.J. McKinney and Methew W. Shepard were strangers who did not know eachother until that day is rubbish. There are many witnesses-Doc O’ Connor’s ex girlfriend, Elaine Baker (bartender), M.K. Rohrbacher (drug dealer), Tristan (Ted) Henson (Methew W. Shepard’s former lover) & others who saw them together.
There are too many witnesses who saw both men together. Of course the witnesses can only say they saw them together and can not know it all. It’s not believed Methew W. Shepard knew the 2nd man (R.A. Henderson) and I agree with Stephen Jimenez that Russell A. Henderson should have gotten a jury trial. Book of Matt by Stephen Jimenez Stephen Jimenez’s evidence are 1st party witnesses he interviewed-over 100 of them over 13 years.
I don’t think Methew W. Shepard should have been killed but it is truth that Methew W. Shepard molested 8 year old boys and got counseling for this when he was 15 years old-Stephen Jimenez incidentally mentioned this near end of book-he interviewed a Casper Wyoming cop and a relative of 1 of victims. But Judy L. Shepard and the Shepard Foundation omits this ugly truth of Methew W. Shepard being a child molester and it would not surprise me if ex Casper Star Tribune journalists Tiffany C. Hunt, Kerry A. Drake and JC Marsden know this but left this out in that I find it hard to believe these 3 Casper Wyoming journalists did not know about Methew W. Shepard molesting 8 year old boys when he was 15 years old because Stephen Jimenez found this in court records and again, Stephen Jimenez incidentally mentioned this near end of book as most of the book was about the 3 people, A.J. McKinney’s problems, Methew W. Shepard’s life and problems and of course the drug problems. Incidentally, it’s possible that Methew W. Shepard had molested more boys other than the 2 case reported to cops. Both JC Marsden & Big Island Chronicle Tiffany Camille Hunt sees nothing wrong with Methew W. Shepard selling drugs and molesting children so their view is rubbish.
Methew W. Shepard associating with drug dealers in both Wyoming and Colorado is not disputable. Methew W. Shepard went into bars where drugs were sold and he did associate with drug dealers-we know that he went to bars named Tornado, Ranger, Library & other bars in Wyoming and Colorado where drugs were sold. Methew W. Shepard’s friend Tina LaBrie expressing concerns about Methew W. Shepard’s drug and $ problems. We know that Methew W. Shepard was having $ problems (spending so much on limosuine rides in Doc O’ Connor’s limousine).
Methew W. Shepard’s a junky (proven fact), drunkard and had money problems. Sheriff O’Malley has said that if Methew W. Shepard sold drugs, the cops would have known which is dishonest-Sheriff David S. O’Malley and Sgt. R.J. DeBree know cops don’t always catch all the criminals and that many drug dealers escape detection. Sheriff David S. O’Malley and Sgt. Robert J. DeBree have arrested drug dealers and they know how it’s the family and friends who get surprised after they learn some1 they know is a drug dealer.
Sheriff David S. O’Malley and Sgt. Robert J. DeBree know that it’s unlikely MW. Shepard told his friends and family that he was a drug dealer, and even if Methew W. Shepard did tell his friends and family that he sold drugs, don’t think his family will admit this ugly as they had tried to hide the fact that Methew Wayne Shepard molested 8 year old boys and got counseling.
Now was Methew W. Shepard’s assocation with drug dealers and going into bars where drugs were sold more than buying drugs ? Was Methew W. Shepard a drug dealer or a drug courier? Stephen Jimenez thinks so and he believes it was the Denver circle. No, Stephen Jimenez does not know it all but his conclusions are sincere and honest. While homosexual groups complain about Stephen Jimenez saying the murder case is complicated and possibly not a hate crime, that is incidental-main reason homosexual groups are offended by Stephen Jimenez’s book is because he talked about the ugly truths about who M.W. Shepard was. You don’t always know the secrets friends and family have. If a person is a drug dealer, then they are usually not going to tell their friends and family that they do this.
Even if Metthew W. Shepard did tell his friends and family that he sold drugs, don’t think his family will admit this ugly truth about him, as they hide the fact that Methew Wayne Shepard molested 8 year old boys and got counseling for it. Laramie Project, Shepard Foundation & Big Island Chronicle Tiffany Camille Hunt sees nothing wrong with Methew W. Shepard selling drugs and molesting children so their view is rubbish.