Virginia Foxx: Story of Matthew Shepard's Murder A "Hoax" (VIDEO)

As the House of Representatives debates an expansion of hate crimes legislation, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) has taken the rhetoric to a new level, claiming that those who say Matthew Shepard was murdered in Wyoming for being gay are perpetrating a "hoax" on the American people.

"I also would like to point out that there was a bill -- the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay. This -- the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills," said Foxx.

A Foxx spokesman didn't immediately return a call. The Matthew Shepard "hoax" notion is a popular meme on right-wing blogs.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation is dedicated to reducing hate crimes.

The New York Times reported in 1998: "According to the local police and prosecutors, the two men lured Mr. Shepard out of a bar by saying they were gay. Then, the Laramie police say, the pair kidnapped Mr. Shepard, pistol-whipped him with a .357 Magnum, and left him tied to a ranch fence for 18 hours until a passing bicyclist spotted Mr. Shepard, who was unconscious."

"She should be ashamed," said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), himself a victim of a hate crime during the struggle for civil rights. "That is unreal, unbelievable. The law enforcement people and almost every reasonable person I know believes he was murdered because he was gay."

UPDATE: Glenn Thrush has it that his mother may have been in the gallery when Foxx aired her theory.

"Matthew Shepard's mother was in the gallery yesterday and I believe she was back today -- so I'm sorry she had to be around to hear it," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told Thrush. "It's an urban myth... And I'd tell her that man did land on the moon and the moon wasn't made out of green cheese."

Media Matters uploaded the video of Foxx's statement. WATCH:

UPDATE: A reader says that the only phone number for Foxx that doesn't go to a totally full voice mail box is at her campaign office -- 877-253-0861. Just sayin'.

Ryan Grim is the author of the forthcoming book This Is Your Country On Drugs: The Secret History of Getting High in America

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Comments

[roseytrebles]

Guys, look at this--

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6004708591409502724

It's video footage of Matthew Shepard two years before he was killed. Perhaps the only useful part of this whole despicable display with Virginia Foxx was how it can remind us--or me, anyhow--of how homophobia in this country is ugly enough to send such a gentle person to the kind of death that no one deserves (not like it would have been more okay if he had a different personality type, of course). I'm donating to the Matthew Shepard foundation and I'm going to make it a personal mission to make sure that that woman does not get elected again. And if anyone else would like to send an email complaining to her they can go here--

http://www.foxx.house.gov/?sectionid=95&sectiontree=3,95

Ugh. This whole thing makes me sick--and, more than that, just sad.

[Bely]

I already said this but wow, it's kind of eerie how he's in NC in the video, and even defending the place at first when he says that Helms only represents the conservative side. And to think that about 12 years later someone from that same conservative side would be trying to defame his memory like this...it's shameful.

[MikeJohnson]

This is one of the most sickening things that any member of congress has ever said... and it’s tough to reach that nauseating level.

I’m sure she’s getting quite a few calls. If PEOPLE REALLY WANT TO GET HER ATTENTION, I might suggest waiting one week or so (until it might seem the furor has died down), and then calling any or all of her offices. Put it on your calendar. Better yet, call every Tuesday (or whichever day of the week you choose) for the next three months!

It seems she really should be asked what prompted her to falsely accuse a dead man of robbery. It is possible that the DEAD MAN’S MOTHER WAS IN THE HOUSE GALLERY to hear Fox’s vicious speech.

Foxx has several office numbers:

Washington, DC: 1-202-225-2071

North Carolina (Greensboro area): 1-336-778-0211

North Carolina (Charlotte area): 1-828-265-0240

TOLL FREE!!!: 1-866-677-8968 (Option to leave message or hold for receptionist.)

*****

Hey thanks for the motivator, Ms. Foxx... this seems like a great day to contribute a few bucks to the Human Rights Campaign!!! http://www.hrc.org/

*****

Please spread this information.

[BeGoodJohnny]

Nice to know that Rep. Virginia Foxx is as ugly on the inside as she is on the outside...are we to assume that this is the best that North Carolina's fifth district has to offer? How embarrassing.

Is she aware that she's on television?

Watching her disgraceful performance reminds me of a scene from the movie "Tootsie"
Producer: "I'd like to make her a little more attractive, how far can you pull back?"
Cameraman: "How do you feel about Cleveland?"

I'm also intrigued by that curious little cap of salt and pepper colored hair on her head. I picture one of her great great grandchildren using a "Flowbee" on her in a trailer somewhere...

[slashedcircle]

This is another example of the media taking the context they want. Rep. Foxx , in the complete context, was simply stating that Bills should be read and decided upon their merit and not as a way of honoring someone first. THE BILL COMES FIRST NOT THE NAME. Rep. Foxx has the Audacity to actually suggest a Bill is READ. Oh, the horror of it!!! Who does she think she is?
PLEASE read the whole speech, not just what Arianna Huffington thinks you need to read. This media sensationalistic clip driven reporting has GOT to stop. The 2 men who brutalized Mr. Sheppard used the fact that he was gay as a ploy to lure him outside a tavern. It was a mitigating factor, but just that, a factor. Foxx was right to not want to jump into a Bill or a naming of a Bill without the context of the Bill being aired.
Foxx has been my District’s Rep for 3 terms now and has always had the same attitude, READ the Bill. Its US, who she represents that she’s responsible to. People remember that she voted against the Katrina package. She had concerns about undocumented citizens being given $2000 cards. Hmmm looks like that was a good decision too. But no one remembers that part of it, just that she voted against it.
PLEASE get your information from more than one source Huffinton=­CNN=MSNBC. Click ONE other place, PLEASE.

[mitGooner]

The key is they singled him out BECAUSE he was gay. That is the reason why this is a "hate" crime. To try to somehow insinuate that the bill is being wrongly named by introducing conjectures derived from the convicts conflicting statements is just hurtful and unproductive. If this was still an open case and the verdict was still up for deliberation, then Foxx has the right to question this (however disagreeable her position may be). If she has an issue with the bill itself, then she can go right ahead and contest that without having to take a swipe at Matthew Shepard.

[Blurp]

Oh my, your little epistle is an apology for ignorance, intolerance and hate.

[staceart]

the joy you possess in your ignorance and prejudice is not only sad but it is utterly unlearned. Virgina Foxx clearly says that naming the hate crimes bill after Matthew Sheppard is a hoax since as she sees it, Matthew Sheppard was murdered in a robbery. You can listen to everything she had to say but the fact remains she STILL CALLED the legislation that has come out of Matthew Sheppard's death a HOAX in front of his Matthew Shephard's mother. Her actions are repulsive, your defense is incomprehensibly pathetic. Find a conscience and perhaps some education, PLEASE.

[BeGoodJohnny]

Slashed - You're right...it was really brave of Rep. Foxx to confront the grieving mother of a murdered child on national television about the circumstances of his death. After all, she did read "several articles" about the case before taking the podium.

Even if this nasty little woman were correct (which of course she isn't) about the crime, what does the name of the bill have to do with the bill itself? Why on earth would she argue about on the floor in front of Sheppard's mother? How could someone so concerned about "family values" be so callous?

Your district should be ashamed.

[StevenKeirstead]

Here is the context of Virginia Foxx's remarks on Matthew Shepard's murder. Foxx is actively anti-gay, and this speech was just the latest example of her attitude. Foxx voted against the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act on April 29, not surprisingly, and not just because she did not like having Matthew Shepard's name on it..

She has co-sponsored amendments to both the North Carolina and US Constitutions that would prohibit same sex marriage equality (Raleigh's News and Observer). Fortunately neither amendment has passed. She has a zero percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign on gay rights issues (www.ontheissues.org/NC/Virginia_Foxx_Civil_Rights.htm). She has voted against ENDA, a law that would protect people from getting fired from jobs based on sexual orientation, which not only would protect the more common employment discrimination against gays and lesbians, but would also stop rare instances of employers from discriminating against heterosexuals.

She claims not to want government intruding on peoples lives, but favors teacher led prayers in school, a clear violation of the First Amendment, which prohibits government from establishing official religion (http://www.ontheissues.org/NC/Virginia_Foxx_HouseMatch.htm).

[thugdrummer2]

Virginia Foxx is either ignorant, a liar or both. One of the defendants tried to invoke some kind of "gay panic" defense (which the judge logically threw out), claiming Matthew Shepard came on to him, so he killed him. I think it would be great if some representative were to speak in front of congress and call Foxx out by name as a propagator of lies and ignorance, and enter the accurate truth of the case into the congressional record.

On the topic of accuracy, the headlines I've seen in relation to Rep. Foxx's statement imply that Matthew Shepard's killing was a hoax. That's NOT what she said. Her statements were offensive enough that we don't need to exaggerate them, thereby reducing our own credibility. And whoever posted saying Rep. Foxx stated Shepard was commiting a robbery, that's not even close. She didn't say Shepard was the person committing the robbery. She said Shepard's murder was not because he was gay, not a hate crime, but that he killed "in the commitment of a robbery". Therefore, according to her, naming a hate crimes bill after someone who (in her altered reality) wasn't a hate crime victim is "a hoax".

Let's let the conservatives keep the mantle of exaggerators, half-truth tellers, and flat-out-liars. Take the high road. The truth will set us free.

[take10]

This Foxx is an example of why I hate republicans!

[take10]

Another insensitive red n*ck republican who would probably attend a lync hing and bring her grand children along for the show. She is also probably one of those people who sit on the front pew of her godless church hoping that she is seen by Je sus. What a terrible woman she is to have said those horrible lies while the victim's mother was attending. She thinks it is okay to ki!! a gay person, but is against a woman's right to choose. From the looks of this aberration, I would hope that her face is not natural. She must have been in a serious accident or something! If not, she was cursed from birth!

[dmhandy]

Congressman Foxx,

I want to thank you as a former resident of Winston Salem, former citizen of North Carolina, and a fellow Southerner for making Southern people look ignorant and stupid. I certainly hope you are voted out of office in the next election and never allowed to sit in public office again.

I can not believe someone in your positon make such a statement without know that two people involved in the Matthew Sheppard case acted gay to lure Matthew Sheppard to his death.

Did you say the same thing about the Jews in Germany or all the other people who have died because a group of people believed they were superior to another group of people.

You day of judgement is coming and you will be in for a big suprise.

[indy girl]

I would love for her to find out on judgement day that God is gay.

[ljrabq]

What a despicable, cowardly low life this pitiful excuse for a human is! If she does in fact represent the majority thinking in her district, then it is most certainly a place to avoid at all costs! Yikes.

[SharpDressedMan]

HuffPost's Pick

Sending emails or calling Virginia Foxx's offices won't help much. This heartless amoral woman voted against aid for Katrina victims.

The best way to make Representative Foxx responsible for her repulsive statement and blatant lie is to write to or call our own congressman or congresswoman and tell them to file a motion to censure Representative Virginia Foxx.

[indy girl]

"This heartless amoral woman voted against aid for Katrina victims."

WOW, that's astounding­------soun­ds like evil itself.

[gaysofla]

My Email to Congresswoman Foxx,

Congresswoman Foxx,

If anything is a hoax Congresswoman Foxx, it is your supposed Family Values that, based on your recent speech on the floor of Congress regarding the Matthew Shepard Hate Crime Bill, include hate.
You are a disgrace to your State, your country and to all civilized human beings. Matthew Shepard was MURDERED because he was gay and your words only encourages other homophobes to do the same. In the least, a public apology to Matthew's mother is in order!

David

[CynAnne]

Until I watched the video last night (on "Countdown") I thought perhaps Rep. Foxx was being misquoted, but there's no way for her to deny the ugliness issued forth from her own mouth (and mind)..worthy of Limbaugh at his lowest, Boortz at his most boorish, or Oh'Really (in general)..!

[indy girl]

When she speaks she doesn't sound like the sharpest knife in the drawer anyway.

Add bigotry and homophobia and you have......a world class LOSER.

[dnsts2m]

Foxx used bad judgment when making the particular comments she made. Ignorant, yes she is. Misinformed, of course. Stupid, possibly. Passionate in her need to for attention, obviously. Rude and disrespectful considering the fact that Matthew Shepard's mother was in the gallery, ABSOLUTELY! Someone in the position Ms. Foxx holds should be verbally adept enough to come up with a better way of getting her point across. You just don't say what she said--it was inflammatory at the expense of a poor mother who, I'm sure, still loves and misses her son desperately, and this Foxx woman knew it. Yes we have free speech, but that doesn't mean you ignore common decency, especially when you're an elected official. Shame on her. Any comment from her office yet? Apology? Something?

[bazokbros]

This is beyond poor judgement. Her statements were a deliberate attempt to forward an agenda which is re-writing history with lies and hyperbole. One has to reasonably assume that of all the days she could have made these statements she was aware Matthew Shepard's mother may be in attendance.

[mishi]

'Course, since Foxx is a Roman Catholic, many Pentecostals would lovingly point out she follows the Antichrist...

[bazokbros]

The ugliness in this hateful rant is a political strategy. Republicans flat out have adopted re-write history to fit whatever argument agenda they are championing. The strategy is present an argument with seeming overlooked omitted "facts" that have never existed and are made up, they can re-write whatever history they want. The obvious strategy is Obama hates America, Democrats got us into Iraq, and Republicans never increased taxes or the deficit.

Didn't Michelle Malkin do this with her book on Japanese internment camp? How long before the GOP. Case and point, GOP is trying to say they never authorized torture and it's Obamas fault including denying the Holocaust happened to the extent as reported in history. Very dangerous and ugly strategy when preaching this garbage to large masses of people who listen to talk radio and think they are informed and intelligent, but really know nothing beyond rumor and inuendo including the classic phrase "Well I heard..."