What is Matthew Shepard?
'''Matthew Wayne Shepard''' (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an [[Americans|American]] college student who was murdered while attending the [[University of Wyoming]]. At the trial for the two attackers, the men were accused of targeting Shepard because he was [[gay]]. ==Murder== On October 7, 1998, Shepard met two people named Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney at the Fireside Lounge. McKinney and Henderson decided that they would give Shepard a ride home. They drove the car to a remote, [[rural]] area, then robbed and [[torture]]d Shepard, beating him with a [[pistol]]. They tied him to a fence post and left him there to die. They also found out where Shepard lived and they planned to [[burglary|burglarize]] his house. Shepard was found by a cyclist named Aaron Kreifels, who thought Shepard was a [[scarecrow]] at first. Shepard was in a [[coma]] and suffered [[fractures]] to the back of his head and the front of his right [[ear]]. He had severe damage to his [[brain stem]], a part of the brain which controls the body's heart rate, body temperature, and other important functions. He died at 12:53 a.m. on October 12, 1998. ==Matthew Shepard Act== A [[hate crime]]s law named the [[Matthew Shepard Act]] was first introduced on March 20, 2007. The bill passed the House of Representatives and the Senate but then-president [[George W. Bush]] said that he would [[veto]] the legislation if it had reached his desk.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://articles.cnn.com/2007-05-03/politics/hate.crimes.bill_1_hate-crime-laws-matthew-shepard-sexual-orientation?_s=PM:POLITICS |title=White House threatens to veto hate-crimes bill |access-date=2012-12-04 |last=Costello |first=Carol |date=3 May 2007 |publisher=CNN.com |archive-date=2012-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315031547/http://articles.cnn.com/2007-05-03/politics/hate.crimes.bill_1_hate-crime-laws-matthew-shepard-sexual-orientation?_s=PM:POLITICS |url-status=dead }}</ref> As a result, the legislation was dropped. It was again brought up on April 2,