The University News

Issue date: 9/10/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Heather Sprigler Judy Shepard receives a standing ovation at her speech for the Human Rights Campaign Sept. 6.

Media Credit: Heather Sprigler In the front row, left to right, is Alvin Brooks, Michael Sanders, Marilyn Hutchinson and Bill Tammaeus

Media Credit: Heather Sprigler The Phelps family arrived to picket against the Human Rights Campaign town hall to end hate crime.

Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, was the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) town hall at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 6 in Pierson Auditorium.
The town hall was focused on ending hate crime.
According to www.matthewshepard.org, Matthew was beaten by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson for being gay. He was then tied to a fencepost after midnight on Oct. 7, 1998. He died Oct. 12, 1998, in Fort Collins, Colo.
Cyd Slayton, HRC Board of Governors member, introduced the event to a packed auditorium.
"Isn't it a powerful feeling, to be seated here tonight, in this auditorium filled with people who want to erase hate in our community?" Slayton said.
Shepard spoke for 15 minutes at the beginning of the event, but did not participate in the town hall.
She said, as a woman who grew up in Wyoming, she understands rural areas are not understanding of diversity.
"We just passed a milestone in Wyoming of over 500,000 people in our state … still we are outnumbered by our sheep, which actually is the diversity in the state of Wyoming," Shepard joked.
She explained because Wyoming is 96 percent white, the residents don't have the opportunity to learn from different people and cultures.
"Ignorance creates fear and fear creates anger and hate," Shepard said. "What we don't do in Wyoming is educate about diversity because we feel, our educators feel, our town fathers feel 'why should we study that when we don't experience it here?'"
She wants people to become more educated about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
"Hate language, saying words like 'that's so gay,' 'fag' … people don't recognize that it is a slur," Shepard said. "It falls on us to educate them about who we are."
Shepard also referred to the Bible in her talk.
"God's message is 'love your fellow man,'" Shepard said. "I don't think anyone who uses the Bible to say that being gay is wrong is justified […] If what you're going to be quoting is from the Old Testament, you all better be living the Old Testament."
The town hall panel of six spoke after Shepard. The panel consisted of Bill Tameus, moderator and columnist/reporter for The Kansas City Star; Alvin Brooks, former Mayor Pro Tem of Kansas City and founder of Ad Hoc Group Against Crime; Shelly Freeman, attorney for H.R.O.I., L.L.C.; Marilyn Hutchinson, Ph.D., psychologist for Hutchinson and Associates; Kevin Masters, deputy chief for the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD); Michael Sanders, Jackson County Executive; and Beth Savitzky, outreach and education coordinator for the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project.
Brooks spoke about the connection between all people.
"Whether we want to or not [acknowledge] that all 6 billion of us on planet earth are tied together," Brooks said.
He also mentioned the protesters outside the University Center.
"I said to Ms. Shepard, when she came in and saw Mr. Fred Phelps and his family … 'God forgive them, for they know not what they do,'" Brooks said.
Freeman and Sanders spoke about the importance of law in stopping hate crimes.
Freeman compared the fight to stop hate crimes against the LGBT population to the fight to stop hate crimes against the black population during the Civil Rights movement.
Sanders said driving under the influence of alcohol was the terrible thing it is today in the 1980s. However, through the work of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, that was changed.
"Through law, we can change the norms of society," Sanders said.
Hutchinson spoke about the experience of being in the LGBT population.
"Gay youngsters learn they are the hated," Hutchinson said.
Masters explained how the Kansas City Police Department is part of the discussion about hate crime.
"The mission of the [KCPD] is to protect life and property," Masters said.
He said he realizes victimized LGBT peoples may not want to come to the police because they are afraid the police won't believe them.
"We've got a lot of work to do because we've got some issues with trust," Masters said.
Christian Rose, president of Queers & Allies, still doesn't feel completely safe in Kansas City.
"I think he's [Masters] doing what he's supposed to; he's giving the audience what they want to hear," Rose said. "Every gay person in Kansas City has felt threatened."
The audience asked questions at the end of the town hall.
One member questioned if hate crimes are prosecuted less vigilantly.
Masters articulated the position of the KCPD on hate crimes. He explained the KCPD doesn't always know if a hate crime has been committed; the victim must tell the police it was a hate crime.
Another audience member asked what needs to happen to make the LGBT population equal.
Sanders spoke of changing the laws.
"There must be more substantial punishment for hate crime," Sanders said.
Sanders also explained that for hate crimes to stop, victims need to come forward and tell their side of the story in court.
"Juries are willing to hand out harsher sentences," Sanders said.
After the town hall Sanders spoke about the three things students can do to end hate crimes.
"Get politically active … start expecting more out of elected leaders … speak out," Sanders said.
The panel focused on violent hate crimes, but Rose gave his own definition.
"We're [the LGBT population] raised to believe we're different," Rose said. "Honestly, that's the most brutal hate crime."
jburche@unews.com

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