Erase Hate

In the fall of 2005, at a store event in Denver, I met a great man by the name of Denise Dorothy. Denise is one of the founders and board members of the Matthew Sheppard Foundation. It took only a few minutes of conversation for me to know that I wanted to be a part of this organization’s mission and help to raise money toward supporting their cause. Shortly after, I met Judy, and fell in love with her extraordinary & powerful dedication to passing the Hate Crime Bill. At that time she had already been working on this for years, traveling around the country and to Washington D.C., talking to everyone that was willing to listen- from the common man to congressmen and our president. After years of hard work, she won and so did we, the Hate Crime Bill became law! Today it is part of our lives and part of our justice system. We all owe this accomplishment to Judy, an exceptional woman who suffered more than most can imagine when she lost her son Matthew to hate, a woman who was able to turn that loss into progress for our nation!

Reading the story about Daniel Zamudio from Chile takes me back to Nov 1999 when we first learned about Matt.

If we have learned anything from that tragedy, it is that there are people with so much hatred for others because of their sexual orientation, religion or color that we must recognize it, fight it, and punish those that act out their hate so brutally, not only in the United States but worldwide. I send my condolences to Daniel Zamudio’s family and friends. Words cannot describe my outrage against those that were so cruel to such a promising young man who was loved by so many. I hope Daniel’s death will do for the Chilean people what Matthew Sheppard’s murder did for us Americans – bring an awareness to a very important reality- a fear that many gay men and women live with ever day. Help to erase hate – in Chile and around the world.

 

 

~ Udi