Matthew Shepard's Account For A Hate Crime

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in 1998 there were over 7,755 hate crime incidents reported in America, which stemmed from people’s biased views towards people of different races (46.9%), sexual orientations (20.8%), religions (19.8%), ethnicity and (11.6%), and people with disabilities (0.9%). All 7,755 of the crimes were more than just violence; they were violence driven by hatred. They were hate crimes. The FBI defines a hate crime as a “a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias.” This is certainly the case of the murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie Wyoming. Although neither of the prosecutors, Aaron McKinney nor Russell Henderson, were charged on account for a hate crime, the

They may argue this due to the fact that Aaron McKinney was bisexual, and sexually involved with Matthew Shepard. Some believe that Matthew’s murder was solely driven by money and drugs, rather than sexuality. Although one may believe that these points are liable, they are missing the big picture. Assuming that Aaron McKinney was bisexual and had previously been sexually involved with Matthew Shepard magnifies the hate part of the crime as it shows that Aaron McKinney was more ashamed of his own sexuality and embarrassed by Matthew Shepard than he was to kill an innocent human being. This shows how unaccepting the town of Laramie was to people who didn’t identify as being straight. So much so, that Aaron McKinney felt that he had to go to such extreme measures to get rid of that part of his life. The fact that Aaron has previously been involved with Matthew Shepard also clears up the question as to why Matthew Shepard would be hitting on him. Aaron McKinney was probably so afraid that Russell Henderson would figure out that he was bisexual, that he screamed at Matthew, "Guess what? We're not gay, and you just got jacked.” Aaron used Matthew as a scapegoat for his own anger towards himself, for simply not understanding that it was ok to be bisexual. Aaron McKinney was raised in a manner that had little acceptance towards people, who they deemed as “different.” Aaron felt shameful to be “different.” Despite people’s beliefs that the murder may have solely been regarding meth, Matthew Shepard’s death resembled much more. It symbolized the biased views of the entire town of Laramie towards people of the LGBT community, to the extent in which it made people within the LGBT community feel shameful about who they