Sixteen years ago on a freezing night in 1998, Matthew Shepard was on his way home in Laramie, Wyoming when he decided to accept a ride from two men. Unbeknownst to Shepard, he accepted a ride from his killers. He was beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead until a cyclist found him eighteen-hours later and alerted the police.
Shepard was in a coma when the police arrived -- the only places that his face wasn't covered in blood were the small trails running down his face, created by his tears. He remained in a coma upon arrival to the hospital, where doctors learned that he had suffered severe trauma to his brain stem which left his body unable to regulate many functions and that it was too risky to operate.
At 12:53 a.m. on October 12, 1998, Shepard died in the hospital.
For those of you who aren't familiar with this story, I'm sure that you're left with one lingering question above all: why would these two men seek out to kill Shepard?
The answer? Because he was gay.
The tragedy surrounding Shepard's death was induced because of his sexuality and because he chose to live his life freely. While the death of such a bright soul like Shepard's is devastating, it's even more disheartening to know that this kind of disturbing behavior still happens in the world today.
Take what happened with the shooting in the Orlando night club this summer, for instance. 49 people lost their lives while 53 others were injured by one man filled with so much hatred that he chose to murder people who were living freely - as they should be - in a gay night club.
Yesterday was National Coming Out Day, but there are still so many hearts in the world who choose not to come out any day because they feel that they won't feel safe or accepted if they choose to do so. My own heart goes out to Shepard's family and friends on this mournful anniversary, and also to those who are feel that they cannot unveil their true selves in today's world.
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