In Memory of Matthew Shepard - On That Freezing Night

Statement

This week, a little over 16 years ago, a student at the University of Wyoming accepted a ride home from a bar with two men. Because he was gay, they drove him to a remote field, brutally assaulted him, then tied him to a fence.

Matthew Shepard's torture on that freezing night lasted for hours, and he was found the following morning by a cyclist who at first mistook him for a scarecrow. He died in a hospital several days later.

During the days that Matthew lay in the hospital -- not once awakening from his coma -- supporters and allies held candlelight vigils around the world. In the time that followed, legislation would be introduced and a national conversation started about intolerance, hatred and violence in our country.

Now, sixteen years later, we've come a long way in terms of tolerance and respect for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. As of just a few days ago, more than 60% of Americans live in a state with marriage equality, and I'm proud that Mainers were among the first.

It would have been easy, in the wake of the tragedy of Matthew Shepard's death, to give in and give up. To say that there is too much hate, too much cruelty, too much violence and too much intolerance in the world.

But such defeatism is not how America has grown and changed and developed as a country committed to equality and justice. It is not how we've responded to such events in our past, and it is not how we will overcome the challenges ahead from those who still seek to deny equal rights to all Americans.

I was proud to be one of the leaders of the marriage equality campaign here in Maine, and I've been an active and vocal supporter of expanding protections and promoting equal rights for LGBTQ Americans. When the Employment Non-Discrimination Act was being considered by the U.S. Senate earlier this year, I was a vocal opponent of religious exemptions that would have undermined its impact.

In order to keep moving forward, we must outlaw discrimination in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and educational opportunity on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation once and for all, nationwide, no exceptions. I worked hard to help pass Maine's strong anti-discrimination law, one of the most inclusive in the country, and I will work hard to make Maine's law the model for a national human rights law to ensure equality for all people.

We cannot turn back the clock. We cannot bring Matthew back to life, nor can we undo the pain and cruelty and horror imposed upon countless Americans who have been forced to live in silence and fear for their lives.

But we can do better. We can keep standing up for them, we can keep fighting, and we can keep advocating for justice and equality and respect and kindness toward one another.

We can do it together.

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