The Laramie Project Ten Years Later Analysis

As people go on with their lives and blossom into adults, some begin to wonder about their preferences in lovers and explore other sexual orientation. Unfortunately, those who become comfortable with their different orientation are often faced with violence & discrimination. The Laramie Project & its sequel The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, by Moises Kaufman, elaborate on the untimely murder of Matthew Shepard by the hands of two homophobes. Through the dialogue of the characters in both plays, it is evident that Matthew Shepard’s death gave LGBT hate crimes the media attention it needed, but it also generated inaccurate news coverage that did more harm than benefit. It is clear that media analysis isn’t enough to cause reform for the LGBT

cause in Wyoming.
Violence based on sexual orientation has been common throughout the centuries, with the earliest known case originating during the 1970s. The reason why there’s a lack of recognized cases in the past is because of how the media plays an important role in determining community and law enforcement response to these crimes.

One example is the “gay panic” strategy, where inaccurate reports of crime imply that “a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender victim shares responsibility for being attacked, or that an attack was justified because of an unwanted romantic or sexual advance. ("GLAAD Media Reference Guide - In Focus: Hate Crimes." GLAAD. 2011. Web.). This strategy has been used during the Matthew Shepard case, in which a judge barred defense lawyers from it as a defense. During the mass interviews done by the Tectonic Theater Project, Laramie, Wyoming was swarmed with reporters keen on gathering information on Shepard’s case. A majority of the interviews involved people playing the “gay panic” card, asserting that Matthew might have done something to cause his murder. Zubaida Ula addresses this during an interview, saying “But basically he said, ‘C’mon guys, let’s show the world that Laramie is not this kind of town.’ But it is that kind of town. If it wasn’t this kind of town, why did this happen here? …. I mean, these are people trying to distance themselves from this crime. And we need to own this crime. I feel. Everyone needs to own it. We are like this. We ARE

like this.

WE are LIKE this.” (Kaufman 57-58). The true mentality of the town’s residents was most evident through its religious ministers, namely the Baptist Minister and Reverend Fred Phelps, a notorious anti-gay activist. Reverend Phelps considered Shepard a “poster boy for the gay lifestyle” (Kaufman 76). The Baptist Minister also had a similar mindset, as seen when he says that Shepard should have reflected on “a moment when someone spoke the word of the Lord to him.” (Kaufman 88). Scientific studies showed that 35% of Laramie’s population is namely Christian ("Laramie, Wyoming Religion." Laramie, Wyoming Religion. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.) and 66% of Wyoming is Christian, (“Religion in Wyoming and the West: The Religious Landscape Survey." UW Religion Today. Web.) There is also a correlation between LGBT discrimination and religion, as

“homosexuality poses a threat to the role of religion in life not only as immoral behaviour in itself, but also as a part of the greater secularization of society.” (Afshar, Ahoura. "The Anti-gay Rights Movement in the United States: The Framing of Religion." Essex Human Rights Review Vol 3. No. 1. Web.). Due to the high percentage of Christianity in Wyoming, along with the relation between homosexuality and religious views, it’d be safe to assume that a fairy chunk of the town share the same anti-gay mindset as the Baptist Minister and Revered Fred Phelps. The citizens of Laramie describe their home as a hate-free paradise, when in reality it is just a gilded statue, appearing shiny and appealing on the outside, but the complete opposite under the thin layer of gold.
On May 15, 2015, Matthew Shepard received the justice he deserved with the passing of Wyoming's First Broad LGBT Anti-Discrimination Ordinance, which bans discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation ("Laramie Passes Wyoming's First Broad LGBT Anti-Discrimination Ordinance." Web.). Despite the mass media coverage in Laramie on Matthew Shepard’s murder, the law took over 17 years to pass. How is it that a law such as anti-discrimination against the LGBT community would take so long to pass in Wyoming, despite the national attention brought by the media? Laramie, with a controversial reputation of being anti-gay, noticeably lacked hate crimes laws, same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination legislation before the ordinance’s passing. In a state where homosexuality is not a social norm, Matthew Shepard’s murder should have filled in those gaps in legislation. According to Judy Shepard in an interview with the Guardian, “Wyoming legislators had the perfect opportunity with Matthew’s death to deal with hate crimes, but they backed away.” (Pilkington, Ed. "Fifteen Years after Matthew Shepard's Murder, Wyoming Remains Anti-gay." The Guardian. Web.) However, when legislators did try to ratify bills banning discrimination, the bills were rejected by the state. For example, the state House rejected a bill banning such discrimination on January 31, 2011. The state Senate rejected a similar bill on January 31, 2013. Recently, the House Labor, Health and Social Services Committee rejected a third bill on February 24, 2015 ("Wyoming's "Anti-Discrimination" Bill Fails." KGWN RSS. Web.).
One case similar to Shepard’s is James Byrd, Jr.’s situation, a 42 year old African man, who was murdered by white supremacists ("Imagine a World Without Hate." Imagine a World Without Hate. Web.). The similarities between the two cases is shocking, from the similar descriptions of the torture done to both Shepard and James, to the fact that Shepard’s incident occurred exactly two months after James Byrd, Jr.’s. In 2009, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expands the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes due to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. What’s more disgusting is that Wyoming’s congressional delegation voted against the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, despite all the support from the state’s citizens ("Wyoming Legislators Use Pathetic Excuses to Not Pass Hate Crime Law WyoFile. Web.)
Expanding a hate crime law to encompass sexual orientation should not have taken more than a decade to happen. Wyoming, with its large Christian population & stubborn House of Representatives, managed to shut down every attempt at gay rights and attempted to shift the blame on Matthew Shepard, when it should have pushed to stop incidents similar to Shepard’s from occurring once more. The Laramie Project was a perfect example of how spiteful some of Laramie’s citizens can be, with a minority of outright toxic bigots & a majority of people who keep their discriminatory thoughts. inside. It is disappointing how the “land of the free” is also the home of 4 states without LGBT hate crime laws. It is even more disappointing how despite all the media coverage done during the making of The Laramie Project, Wyoming only got its first hate crime law last year. However, it is most disappointing how it took the death of these two men along with many other victims across the past 18 years for America to open their eyes and realize that gender discrimination is real, and it needs to be solved now.