Matthew Shepard

On October 12, 1998, a young man was murdered.  He was 21 and had not wronged any other person.  That did not stop two young men from murdering Matthew Shepard.


from The Matthew Shepard Foundation:

The story of Matthew Shepard began on December 1, 1976 when he was born to Judy and Dennis Shepard in Casper, Wyoming. He went to public school in Casper until his junior year of high school when he moved with his family to Saudi Arabia. Matt had to finish his high school education at The American School in Switzerland because there were no American high schools in Saudi Arabia at the time. In both high schools, he was elected by his peers to be a peer counselor. He was easy to talk to, made friends easily and actively fought for the acceptance of all people. Matt had a great passion for equality. His experiences abroad fueled his love for travel and gave him the chance to make many new friends from around the world.  Matt’s college career eventually took him back to Wyoming where he studied political science, foreign relations and languages at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The horrific events that took place shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998 went against everything that Matt embodied. Two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, lead him to a remote area east of Laramie, Wyoming. He was tied to a split-rail fence where the two men severely assaulted him. He was beaten and left to die in the cold of the night. Almost 18 hours later, he was found by a bicyclist who initially mistook him for a scarecrow. Matt died on October 12 at 12:53 a.m. at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado with his family by his side. His memorial service was attended by friends and family from around the world and garnered immense media attention that brought Matt’s story to the forefront of the fight against bigotry and hate. The life and death of Matthew Shepard changed the way we talk about, and deal with, hate in America. Since his death, Matt’s legacy has challenged and inspired millions of individuals to erase hate in all its forms. Although Matt’s life was short, his story continues to have a great impact on young and old alike.  His legacy lives on in thousands of people like you who actively fight to replace hate with understanding, compassion and acceptance.

- But why?  Because he was gay?

My Political Views: Abortion

I am a Libertarian and my views pretty much fall in line with the party.  So, I will be looking at each issue on their platform and then adding my two cents in red:

1.4    Abortion
Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration.

I do not agree with this statement in that I believe that a baby in utero is human life.  Individuals do not have the right to murder for convenience.  I do believe that abortion should be allowed if the mother's life is in jeopardy, if a woman is raped (because she did not willingly have sex to create life), or in the case of incest, where chances of the child having health problems greatly increases.  In all other cases, abortion should be seen as premeditated murder, and both the mother and the doctor should be placed on trial.  The mother should be seen, not as a murderer because she is not performing the abortion, but as an accomplice, and punished as such.

My Political Views: Personal Relationships

The Libertarian platform is first, my viewpoint is in red.

1.3    Personal Relationships
Sexual orientation, preference, gender, or gender identity should have no impact on the
government's treatment of individuals, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption,
immigration or military service laws. Government does not have the authority to define, license or
restrict personal relationships. Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices
and personal relationships.

I agree 100%.  All individuals have the right to get married.  Getting married is not a religious right.  If it were, then all marriages between atheists, all marriages performed by judges or other public officials, and all weddings performed outside of religious buildings would be null and void.  Marriage is a commitment that two people who vow to love each other under any circumstances enter into a contractual relationship.  Therefore, gay couples have the right to be married. Gay couples and individuals have the right to adopt and openly serve in the military, and so on.

My Political Views: Personal Privacy

The Libertarian platform is first.  My view follows in red.

1.2    Personal Privacy
Libertarians support the rights recognized by the Fourth Amendment to be secure in our persons,
homes, and property. Protection from unreasonable search and seizure should include records held
by third parties, such as email, medical, and library records. Only actions that infringe on the rights
of others can properly be termed crimes. We favor the repeal of all laws creating “crimes” without
victims, such as the use of drugs for medicinal or recreational purposes.

I agree with this statement 100%.  The Patriot Act is in violation of the Fourth Amendment.  The government has no right to listen to phone conversations or look at one's emails without the individual being officially accused of a crime and that person being notified.  I like to view the term victimless crimes as an oxymoron. If someone's choices does not infringe upon the rights of others, then there is nothing wrong with it.

My Political Views: Expression and Communication

The Libertarian viewpoint is first and my viewpoint is in red.

1.1    Expression and Communication
We support full freedom of expression and oppose government censorship, regulation or control of communications media and technology. We favor the freedom to engage in or abstain from any religious activities that do not violate the rights of others. We oppose government actions which either aid or attack any religion.

As a parent, I am not 100% in agreement with the lack of regulation in communications media.  Children should not be subjected to condom commercials, foul language, etc. while watching a show they want to watch.  The only regulation I would put into place is to designate some broadcasting and some cable/satellite stations as children stations, where commercials would have to be child friendly.

Beyond that, religion or the lack thereof is a person's personal choice.  Where religious organizations hold their services can not be infringed upon.  I fully support the building of a mosque near Ground Zero; afterall, the notion that all Muslims are terrorists is just as true as all priests are child molesters. It's simply not true.

My Political Views: Personal Liberty

I am a Libertarian and my views pretty much fall in line with the party.  So, I will be looking at each issue on their platform and then adding my two cents:

Personal Liberty
Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. No individual, group, or government may initiate force against any other individual, group, or government. Our support of an individual's right to make choices in life does not mean that we necessarily approve or disapprove of those choices.

My Viewpoint
I agree with this.  I am not a very religious purpose, but I do believe that humans were given Free Will.  If an individual wants to drink, use drugs, etc. then that is their personal choice, and should not be prevented from doing so.  However, since these things are WANTS and not NEEDS, then they should be taxed. The government should only step in when one person's personal liberty is infringed upon by another's.

It's been a year!

Happy Anniversary to my younger sister, Julia and the guy I have always considered a brother anyway, Jeremy!

They have been married one year today!

What was your favorite subject?

From Brian Williams:

What was your favorite subject?
History.

I knew I liked him!

To read the rest of his Q&A with Edutopia, click here.