Youth Column
November 1998
Anti-gay murder exposes retrogressive times
by Kevin Michaels
The anti-gay atrocity which took place outside of Laramie, Wyo. in early
October shocked many into a realization of the severity of the problem of
violence targeted against gays and lesbians. College campuses were the
sites of many of the protests against the vicious beating and torture of
University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, who survived until Oct. 12
in a Colorado hospital after having been discovered a few days before,
barely conscious and tied to a fence on the outskirts of town. In the
Midwest alone, demonstrations and speak-outs took place at Northern
Illinois University in DeKalb and the University of Kansas in Lawrence. In
Chicago, many DePaul University students turned out for a well-attended
march and vigil which took place on the evening of Oct. 14.
Chicago has been experiencing an acute upsurge of anti-gay violence in its
most prominently gay neighborhood. A gay-bashing incident which took place
on Sept. 19 left a man with severe neurological damage and was only the
most grievous of a string of several attacks in which the assailants jumped
out of cars and made it clear what motivated their actions. Last year saw a
total of 37 reported anti-gay attacks in Chicago, a rise of over 50% from
1996. Nationally, the numbers of assaults against gays are increasing just
as the level of violent crimes being committed is decreasing.
These horrendous events are taking place against a retrogressive political
backdrop which makes one wonder if we are in store for even worse in the
near future. On Oct. 13 the Supreme Court refused to overturn a court
decision which permits the city of Cincinnati, Ohio to maintain a law
preventing gays from being subjected to discrimination because of their
sexual orientation. The governor of Wyoming, the state in which the murder
of Matthew Shepard took place, continues to actively crusade against the
passage of a hate crimes law even in the wake of this brutal example of
anti-gay violence. While the existence of hate crimes legislation does not
mean that the capitalist state, which defends and promotes the ideology of
the nuclear family, is firmly committed to protecting the physical safety
of gays and lesbians (indeed reports of police officers as perpetrators of
anti-gay violence are increasing), it does at least provide a formal
commitment to which it can be held accountable.
The upcoming mid-term election provides a further arena for anti-gay
right-wing forces to advance. The anti-abortion and anti-gay fanatic
Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, is running as a candidate for
the seat in New York's 26th Congressional District. The Democratic
candidate for governor in Illinois has proved to be so hostile to gay
support that several gay political organizations have endorsed his
Republican opponent. Reactionary religious political organizations like the
Christian Coalition and the Colorado-based Family Research Council are
contributing to this atmosphere by actions like their recent sponsorship of
full-page anti-gay advertisements in national newspapers.
The indignation expressed towards this horrible event is evidence of a
realization of the need for new human relations. Marxist-Humanists express
our sympathy to the friends and family of Matthew Shepard as well as our
solidarity with all those who face discrimination and violence because of
their sexual orientation in this retrogressive society. We need to work to
challenge this outpouring of repugnance toward homophobic violence to
develop into a critique of the nature of a society in which such violence
continues to persist and which may prove to occur in increasing levels.
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