North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx has tried to downplay the murder of Matthew Shepard by illustrating the instance as a robbery gone wrong.
On the House Floor, she said, "The bill was named after a very unfortunate incident that happened, where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. The bill was named for him, the hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's, it's really a hoax, that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills."
Oh hell to the no! This woman is out of her mind and needs to check her facts, because this is total bullshit.
Luckily, the House of Representatives didn't buy this foolishness, as they passed the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HR 1913) with a 249-175 vote.
– Dewitt
Winston-Salem is full of bi**hes, why should she be any different? Sad part is, her little hate rant will probably get her more votes in the next election.
She knows it wasn’t a hoax.
Anybody in possession of a brain recognizes it as a crime stemming from hate and ignorance.
She is doing what politicians do best. Vomit BS into the public’s face to ensure larger “gifts” from the interest groups that contribute to her REAL paycheck (not the “tiny” one WE pay her).
What… a dumb bitch.
She has a right to her opinion.
Why should he be any different?
A crime is a crime no matter who its
commited against.Gay or straight.
A hoax?? Really well I guess since there was a gun involved it was automatically assumed as robbery… I love the intelligent people that run the political offices… It amazes me especially after this incident. I mean yes she has a right to her opinion and she is doing it to gather anti-gay votes. But however way you flip the coin it those two men killed Matthew not because he possessed something they wanted; it was because he was gay…..
She makes me ashamed to be from North Carolina sometimes. I hate that she got voted into office this year. She is horrible.
I live in North Carolina, and I can tell you, she is a twisted, hateful woman. She campaigned on a platform of keeping marriages safe from gays and lesbians, deporting all illegal immigrants, and spreading hatred and bile across the state. This is one ugly, ugly woman.
whether or not she is entitled to her opinion is something that doesn’t apply in this scenario.
go bug a math teacher and see… no he can’t be a psych teacher also. (or something along those lines) >.>
to modify an already existing well known fact isn’t opinion as much as it is dishonesty.
The only hoax perpetrated here was the one this woman (and I use that word loosely) pulled on the voters of North Carolina. I dare her to say those words to Matthew’s mother. Shame on her!
Jeremy, it was later revealed that Matthew Shepard’s mother was in the house chamber listening to this!
I was in a production of The Laramie Project in college( as AJ McKinney, among others), and I did a lot of research. Matt was no angel. He was kind of a mess, involved in some fairly unsavory stuff. That said, the initial targeting of Shepard and viciousness of the beating did ultimately stem from him being gay.
John, Holocaust deniers and segregationists have a right to their opinions too – but it is not O.K. for them to present those opinions as arguments while debating a bill in congress.
There are two kinds of hate crime: a crime which the perpetrator intended to commit for its own sake in which the victim was singled out for a reason relating to a prejudice, and a crime which would not have been committed at all if not for that prejudice.
By discouraging hate crime, we aim to stamp out the latter kind of crime altogether and discourage or eliminate the hateful and prejudicial ideals which lead certain groups to be victims of the former type more often.