1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,600
Speaker 1: Hi everyone. I'm Katie Kuric and this is next question.

2
00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,560
Speaker 1: You Know, when I looked back at my forty year

3
00:00:07,640 --> 00:00:10,479
Speaker 1: career in media, one of the things that stands out

4
00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:14,720
Speaker 1: to me is the seismic cultural shift we've seen for

5
00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,640
Speaker 1: the majority of my career, really into the last couple

6
00:00:17,680 --> 00:00:20,800
Speaker 1: of years. So much of the news has been filtered

7
00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:26,360
Speaker 1: through an incredibly narrow, mostly white sist mail lens, whether

8
00:00:26,400 --> 00:00:29,159
Speaker 1: it was the people who were interviewed, the questions that

9
00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:33,200
Speaker 1: were asked, or the people who asked them. Good morning,

10
00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,159
Speaker 1: this is Today. I'm Frank Mee d And here are

11
00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:40,800
Speaker 1: the headlines. Good morning, Here's what's happening. Here begins something New.

12
00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,519
Speaker 1: I'm Charles Calf and this is Wilt is here with

13
00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,280
Speaker 1: Maria Schreiber visiting is Today. It's going to have you, Maria.

14
00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,800
Speaker 1: Good evening, the CDs Evening News with Walter Tronka. This

15
00:00:50,040 --> 00:00:52,720
Speaker 1: is NBC Likely News with John Chance of All in

16
00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:57,120
Speaker 1: New York, Harry Reisner and Barbara Walters, Peter Jennings, Dan Rather,

17
00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,880
Speaker 1: Sam Donaldson. I'm Frank Reynolds and I'm Howard K. Smith

18
00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,400
Speaker 1: in Washington. Good morning everyone, I'm Tom Brokaw on Today

19
00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,559
Speaker 1: with the newest member of the Today Family, Jane Pauli,

20
00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:10,959
Speaker 1: who comes to us from Indiana and Chicago. And as

21
00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,720
Speaker 1: I said earlier, any family would be happy to welcome

22
00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:18,119
Speaker 1: someone so bright and energetic and enterprising and just incidentally

23
00:01:18,200 --> 00:01:21,000
Speaker 1: pretty as well. Charlotte, do you agree with that? Yes,

24
00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:23,320
Speaker 1: I wish you were younger. You know, I ask you

25
00:01:23,400 --> 00:01:29,240
Speaker 1: not to do that. Yikes, Gene. Fortunately, some things have

26
00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,520
Speaker 1: changed since then, and not just for women. The activism

27
00:01:33,560 --> 00:01:37,080
Speaker 1: we've seen against racism in the wake of police brutality,

28
00:01:37,360 --> 00:01:41,800
Speaker 1: the push for pay equity across industries, the continued pressure

29
00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:45,160
Speaker 1: from the Me Too movement, the wave of lgbt Q

30
00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,480
Speaker 1: representation in so many arenas are all getting us to

31
00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:54,680
Speaker 1: a more inclusive, enlightened place. I reflected on these changes

32
00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:58,000
Speaker 1: in my memoir, and when I look back, there's one

33
00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:01,360
Speaker 1: interview for me that stands out up as a prime

34
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,400
Speaker 1: example of how far we've come. Coming up in this

35
00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,400
Speaker 1: half hour, it was a crime that shocked the entire nation.

36
00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,919
Speaker 1: It was February. Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the

37
00:02:13,000 --> 00:02:15,760
Speaker 1: University of Wyoming, was found beaten and tied to a

38
00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:19,160
Speaker 1: fence last fall. A cyclist passing by said he resembled

39
00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,800
Speaker 1: a scarecrow. Shortly afterwards, Matthew Shephard died and now his

40
00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,800
Speaker 1: parents are talking for the first time. I interviewed Matthew's parents,

41
00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,440
Speaker 1: Judy and Dennis, on The Today Show. This was just

42
00:02:30,639 --> 00:02:33,880
Speaker 1: four months after their son was brutally beaten and left

43
00:02:33,919 --> 00:02:37,280
Speaker 1: for dead, four months after his death became a national

44
00:02:37,320 --> 00:02:42,160
Speaker 1: story and a clarion call for gay rights. What do

45
00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,960
Speaker 1: you think matt would have thought of all this because

46
00:02:45,080 --> 00:02:49,400
Speaker 1: to some he's he's become almost a martyr. Well, it's

47
00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:51,760
Speaker 1: a very frightening concept as a parent that your son

48
00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,680
Speaker 1: now becomes a martyr and a figure of public figure

49
00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:58,040
Speaker 1: for the world. He's just our son. We talked about

50
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,520
Speaker 1: what matt was like, always a loving and kind, gentle

51
00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:05,400
Speaker 1: spirit who had respect for everyone's views, and how they

52
00:03:05,440 --> 00:03:08,560
Speaker 1: reacted when he told them he was gay. He was

53
00:03:08,600 --> 00:03:10,600
Speaker 1: our son. We would have accepted and loved him and

54
00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:13,840
Speaker 1: support him no matter what decisions he made. And then

55
00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:16,880
Speaker 1: having said that, was it a bit hard to accept

56
00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:18,720
Speaker 1: at all? You want to see your son or your

57
00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:25,640
Speaker 1: daughter uh have grandchildren so that the family tree continues.

58
00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,480
Speaker 1: It was hard to accept the fact that it stops here.

59
00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:35,520
Speaker 1: Listening to it now, I'm struck by how differently the

60
00:03:35,560 --> 00:03:38,920
Speaker 1: subject of having a gay child was treated back then.

61
00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:42,680
Speaker 1: I brought this up recently when I interviewed the Scottish

62
00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:47,040
Speaker 1: actor and queer icon Alan Cumming, pointing out how dated

63
00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,760
Speaker 1: this line of questioning feels now. I think it so

64
00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,280
Speaker 1: much actually has changed. And since you know and and

65
00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,720
Speaker 1: and then you cous Matthew Shepard was a huge turning point,

66
00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:57,760
Speaker 1: I think. And that was actually right when I first

67
00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,240
Speaker 1: came to New York. That's when I was doing cabaret,

68
00:04:01,560 --> 00:04:04,560
Speaker 1: remember it. But I think those things, those it's like,

69
00:04:04,680 --> 00:04:08,360
Speaker 1: it's like, you know, stuff pre me too. Stuff sounds

70
00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:10,640
Speaker 1: now so like how insane could we have put up

71
00:04:10,680 --> 00:04:13,119
Speaker 1: with all that? But actually what you're talking about when

72
00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:14,600
Speaker 1: you said that to him, that is very much how

73
00:04:14,600 --> 00:04:17,200
Speaker 1: people thought in those days. It's it does it is dated,

74
00:04:17,279 --> 00:04:21,640
Speaker 1: but it's it's not it's not offensive. It wasn't offensive.

75
00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:23,800
Speaker 1: I meant from any pace of offense. It's just really

76
00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,359
Speaker 1: interesting how things in certain areas sometimes changed so fast.

77
00:04:27,880 --> 00:04:32,320
Speaker 1: And thank God that we have got a generation of

78
00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,240
Speaker 1: young people who are coming up who don't I think

79
00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:38,080
Speaker 1: in the same way that we we weren't brought up

80
00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,479
Speaker 1: in the same way that we are who have grown

81
00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:45,279
Speaker 1: up with the possibility of otherness all around them. I

82
00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:50,279
Speaker 1: am so kind of heartened by the young when it

83
00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:54,880
Speaker 1: comes to lgbt Q acceptance. Matthew Shepard, as Alan Cumming

84
00:04:55,040 --> 00:04:58,479
Speaker 1: just said, was in many ways the turning point in

85
00:04:58,520 --> 00:05:02,719
Speaker 1: this country. He is gruesome. Death sounded the alarm and

86
00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,520
Speaker 1: inspired a whole new generation of activists to fight for

87
00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:12,440
Speaker 1: the equality and protections the LGBT community deserved. I've been

88
00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:15,279
Speaker 1: lucky enough to interview the Shepherds in the years since.

89
00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:20,320
Speaker 1: In fact, Judy came on my talk show. In day

90
00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:22,280
Speaker 1: to day it changes. Sometimes it seems like it was

91
00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,360
Speaker 1: just yesterday, as you said, or a hundred years ago.

92
00:05:25,440 --> 00:05:28,880
Speaker 1: It's every day is a brand new day. Still, after

93
00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:33,679
Speaker 1: fifteen years, it never gets easier for those who loved

94
00:05:33,760 --> 00:05:38,800
Speaker 1: matt His life and death impacted so many, and on

95
00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:42,840
Speaker 1: today's episode this Thanksgiving week, just a few days shy

96
00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:46,320
Speaker 1: of what would have been his forty five birthday, we

97
00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:52,360
Speaker 1: explore Matthew Shepherd's legacy through one of those people who knew, loved,

98
00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:56,200
Speaker 1: and was inspired by him. I will apologize if there's

99
00:05:56,200 --> 00:05:58,279
Speaker 1: times that I get terry and I cry, because it

100
00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:00,040
Speaker 1: just means so much to me to be doing what

101
00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:02,599
Speaker 1: I'm doing, and um, sometimes I get a little bit

102
00:06:02,640 --> 00:06:05,359
Speaker 1: of overwhelmed because life has come full circle for me.

103
00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:09,919
Speaker 1: Jeff Matt was a friend of Matt's at the University

104
00:06:09,920 --> 00:06:13,840
Speaker 1: of Wyoming. They met through the LGBT There wasn't a

105
00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:18,520
Speaker 1: queue yet group on campus. The LGBT group was just

106
00:06:18,720 --> 00:06:21,800
Speaker 1: our great way of all getting together and knowing each other.

107
00:06:21,839 --> 00:06:27,800
Speaker 1: And Matt was such a nice, sensitive person, super smart,

108
00:06:27,839 --> 00:06:30,839
Speaker 1: would give you the shirt off his back, was just

109
00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:36,599
Speaker 1: always just so so kind um, and someone you always

110
00:06:36,600 --> 00:06:38,800
Speaker 1: wanted to go have a beer with, or you know,

111
00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,560
Speaker 1: hang out with, or talk politics with, and you know,

112
00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:43,880
Speaker 1: wanting both wanting to be in politics. It was It

113
00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:47,280
Speaker 1: was fun to be able to talk about that today.

114
00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,080
Speaker 1: Jeff is the newly appointed executive vice president of the

115
00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:56,760
Speaker 1: Matthew Shepard Foundation, an lgbt Q education, outreach and advocacy

116
00:06:56,880 --> 00:07:01,240
Speaker 1: organization started by Judy and Dennis. I cried in every

117
00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:03,520
Speaker 1: interview for this job, and I said, I said to

118
00:07:03,520 --> 00:07:06,120
Speaker 1: everybody's like, I don't cry during job interviews, but this

119
00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:09,640
Speaker 1: just means so much to me, and carrying on his

120
00:07:09,720 --> 00:07:14,880
Speaker 1: legacy just means so much. I grew up in Wyoming.

121
00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,360
Speaker 1: I grew up in a town of a eighty people

122
00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,880
Speaker 1: called Chugwater, Wyoming, and I grew up ten miles outside

123
00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,640
Speaker 1: of that on a farm, and gay wasn't something that

124
00:07:24,680 --> 00:07:28,280
Speaker 1: people really knew, and if it was, it was something

125
00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:32,240
Speaker 1: that was was very, very bad. And uh. I went

126
00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,200
Speaker 1: off to school at the University of Laramie, very University

127
00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:39,480
Speaker 1: of Wyoming, Laramie, and was not out. I was a

128
00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,640
Speaker 1: fraternity member, and I left to go work for my

129
00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,480
Speaker 1: fraternity on the East Coast and came back and was

130
00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:48,320
Speaker 1: admissions council. So I was about three three and a

131
00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:52,360
Speaker 1: half years older than Matt, and you know, I was young,

132
00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:55,360
Speaker 1: and I joined the LGBT R. I was a part

133
00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:57,400
Speaker 1: of the LGBT group because I couldn't join it because

134
00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:58,880
Speaker 1: I was not a student. But I was a young

135
00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,480
Speaker 1: professional and that was my That was my outlet to

136
00:08:02,480 --> 00:08:05,920
Speaker 1: to be gay. And getting to know Matt through the

137
00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:09,920
Speaker 1: LGBT group and having that safe space was my only

138
00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:12,560
Speaker 1: outlet while I was in in Laramie. Wasn't out to

139
00:08:12,640 --> 00:08:17,480
Speaker 1: my family, wasn't out to anybody. And when um, when

140
00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:22,160
Speaker 1: Matt died, I was actually on a work trip and

141
00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:24,760
Speaker 1: one of my colleagues got sick and couldn't go on

142
00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:27,160
Speaker 1: the recruiting trip, and so we drove up to Jackson

143
00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,240
Speaker 1: that week to do a recruiting trip for the university.

144
00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:35,240
Speaker 1: And uh, our boss Kathy called one morning and was

145
00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:41,319
Speaker 1: the morning that Matt was found. Sorry, it just I mean,

146
00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:44,600
Speaker 1: twenty plus years later, it just still gets me. And um,

147
00:08:45,559 --> 00:08:49,360
Speaker 1: Kathy goes with you, please sit down, And so I

148
00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,920
Speaker 1: sat down and Cathy told me that Matt had been

149
00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:56,760
Speaker 1: found tied to a fence post and was in critical

150
00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,920
Speaker 1: condition in Fort Collins and she said come home now.

151
00:09:02,320 --> 00:09:04,000
Speaker 1: And it was a couple of days later that he

152
00:09:04,120 --> 00:09:08,360
Speaker 1: then died. Uh. So then through that entire next year,

153
00:09:08,920 --> 00:09:11,920
Speaker 1: it was all of us trying to just figure out

154
00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,880
Speaker 1: what was going on with our lives. We really bonded together.

155
00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,240
Speaker 1: The group really tried to start doing some activism and

156
00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,640
Speaker 1: so that really at that moment, gave me the introspect

157
00:09:23,679 --> 00:09:26,880
Speaker 1: to go is admissions where they need to be. And

158
00:09:27,960 --> 00:09:30,720
Speaker 1: you look at so many of Matt's friends and we've

159
00:09:30,760 --> 00:09:34,600
Speaker 1: all kind of gone in our own paths. I took

160
00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:36,800
Speaker 1: the path of I was just like, I have to

161
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,920
Speaker 1: save the world. I have to do something. Jeff left

162
00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:44,000
Speaker 1: the small town of Laramie, Wyoming and his admissions job

163
00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:48,200
Speaker 1: at the university. He moved to big cities Denver first,

164
00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,240
Speaker 1: then l a and Washington, d C. Weaving his passion

165
00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:56,760
Speaker 1: for lgbt Q activism with the nonprofit World. He worked

166
00:09:56,760 --> 00:10:00,280
Speaker 1: for the Human Rights Campaign, the Outfest film Fest, Stable,

167
00:10:00,679 --> 00:10:03,720
Speaker 1: the American Red Cross, and the Kennedy Center for the

168
00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:07,720
Speaker 1: Performing Arts. The thing that has happened through all of this,

169
00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:14,800
Speaker 1: Judy kind of became my adopted virtual mom. Judy has

170
00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:19,360
Speaker 1: seen me grow as you know, this kid who's too

171
00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,760
Speaker 1: scared to be in the Larmie Project because he didn't

172
00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:25,480
Speaker 1: want people to think he was gay, to see me

173
00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:29,320
Speaker 1: grow as a professional. I wasn't too much older than

174
00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:32,400
Speaker 1: Matt Um. It always breaks my heart thinking that if

175
00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:33,920
Speaker 1: I had been there that week, would I have got

176
00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,680
Speaker 1: out for a drink with him? You know, would we've

177
00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,000
Speaker 1: would would would something else have been different? You know?

178
00:10:40,160 --> 00:10:42,680
Speaker 1: I used to go karaoke at the fireside and you

179
00:10:42,720 --> 00:10:44,760
Speaker 1: know it was it was one of those places that

180
00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:49,360
Speaker 1: we would go to and we never felt in danger

181
00:10:49,520 --> 00:10:53,120
Speaker 1: until that happened. I was I had never been called

182
00:10:53,200 --> 00:10:57,720
Speaker 1: faggott or anything like that. Um, And so Larmie changed

183
00:10:57,720 --> 00:10:59,679
Speaker 1: in a way and that's one of the reasons why

184
00:10:59,679 --> 00:11:01,680
Speaker 1: I decided to leave, because I needed to see the

185
00:11:01,679 --> 00:11:04,199
Speaker 1: big city, and I wanted to go out and change

186
00:11:04,240 --> 00:11:09,880
Speaker 1: the world. And coming back here and seeing what the

187
00:11:09,920 --> 00:11:12,720
Speaker 1: foundation has done, and Judy and Dennis just going and

188
00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,320
Speaker 1: talking to people has really put a face to it

189
00:11:16,800 --> 00:11:20,160
Speaker 1: and has helped people understand that being an ally is very,

190
00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:24,199
Speaker 1: very important. Still to this day. Judy and Dennis launched

191
00:11:24,240 --> 00:11:30,319
Speaker 1: the Matthew Shepherd Foundation on their son's birthday December one,

192
00:11:30,800 --> 00:11:34,520
Speaker 1: and in the twenty three years since, the organization and

193
00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:38,280
Speaker 1: Judy and Dennis have had a huge impact on legislation,

194
00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:42,520
Speaker 1: lobbying for marriage equality, over turney, don't Ask, Don't tell,

195
00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:48,960
Speaker 1: fighting job discrimination policies, and most profoundly, this afternoon, I

196
00:11:49,000 --> 00:11:52,680
Speaker 1: signed in the law but Matthew Shepard and James Burd Jr.

197
00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:57,440
Speaker 1: Hate Crimes Conventional, a bill that was also named for

198
00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:01,240
Speaker 1: James Bird Jr. A Texas man who was brutally killed

199
00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:06,640
Speaker 1: by three white supremacists just a few months before Matthew's murder.

200
00:12:07,240 --> 00:12:09,800
Speaker 1: Judy and Dennis work so hard to get the Hate

201
00:12:09,840 --> 00:12:13,080
Speaker 1: Crimes Prevention Act, and that was two thousand and nine,

202
00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,520
Speaker 1: and so that took ten years ten to get This

203
00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,520
Speaker 1: is the culmination of a struggle that has lasted more

204
00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:25,080
Speaker 1: than a decade. Time and again, we faced opposition, time

205
00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:29,160
Speaker 1: and again the measure was defeated or delayed. Time and again,

206
00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,480
Speaker 1: we've been reminded of the difficulty of building a nation

207
00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,959
Speaker 1: in which we're all free to live and love as

208
00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:40,960
Speaker 1: we see fit. What the Act did was greatly expand

209
00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:45,760
Speaker 1: the government's ability to prosecute federal hate crimes, including now

210
00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:49,720
Speaker 1: for the first time, those crimes motivated by a victims

211
00:12:49,720 --> 00:12:56,360
Speaker 1: sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability. It's passage twelve years

212
00:12:56,360 --> 00:12:59,960
Speaker 1: ago was historic, and it still stands as a land

213
00:13:00,080 --> 00:13:06,120
Speaker 1: mark piece of legislation when we come back. How Matthew

214
00:13:06,160 --> 00:13:19,760
Speaker 1: Shepard inspired a new generation of activists. By the nineteen nineties,

215
00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:24,760
Speaker 1: the culture Wars were raging. Everything from abortion to religion

216
00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:29,319
Speaker 1: to women in the military sparked vicious debate, but none

217
00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:34,520
Speaker 1: more so than gay rights. The agenda that Clinton and

218
00:13:34,600 --> 00:13:40,320
Speaker 1: Clinton would impose on America, abortion on demand, a litmus

219
00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:46,679
Speaker 1: test for the Supreme Court, homosexual rights, discrimination against religious schools,

220
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:50,360
Speaker 1: women in combat units. The tension at the time is

221
00:13:50,400 --> 00:13:53,760
Speaker 1: pretty well represented and pap you can inspire e speech

222
00:13:54,160 --> 00:13:59,000
Speaker 1: at the Republican National Convention. There is a religious war

223
00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,920
Speaker 1: going on in this country. It is a cultural war

224
00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,240
Speaker 1: as critical to the kind of nation we shall be

225
00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:10,440
Speaker 1: as the Cold War itself. For this war is for

226
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:13,920
Speaker 1: the soul of America. We had in that struggle for

227
00:14:13,960 --> 00:14:17,520
Speaker 1: the soul of America. Clinton and Clinton are on the

228
00:14:17,559 --> 00:14:24,360
Speaker 1: other side, and George Bush is on our side. Meanwhile,

229
00:14:25,080 --> 00:14:27,520
Speaker 1: I can't even say the word. Why can't I say

230
00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,240
Speaker 1: the word? I mean, why can't I just say? Gay

231
00:14:30,320 --> 00:14:33,280
Speaker 1: life was making its way into the nation's living rooms

232
00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:40,040
Speaker 1: like never before. I'm gay. You know, Ellen came out

233
00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:46,520
Speaker 1: and had repercussions and lost her show when matt was killed.

234
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:48,840
Speaker 1: I think Will and Grace came out just a couple

235
00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:51,800
Speaker 1: of months before that. It's not that not that big

236
00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,520
Speaker 1: a deal. You just jumped into Jack's arms. Last time

237
00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,760
Speaker 1: a woman did that. A woman has never done that.

238
00:14:58,640 --> 00:15:02,880
Speaker 1: We we weren't seeing our images on mainstream TV. We

239
00:15:02,880 --> 00:15:07,360
Speaker 1: were either a stereotype or an add on character. So

240
00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:14,800
Speaker 1: what smooth Still, But Matthew's death in many ways turned

241
00:15:14,800 --> 00:15:20,120
Speaker 1: the tide culturally and politically. You know, I hate to

242
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:21,880
Speaker 1: always say it, and I think people have said it,

243
00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:24,720
Speaker 1: but Matt's death was the second Stone Wall, and it

244
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:30,600
Speaker 1: really invigorated everyone to really stand up for themselves. You

245
00:15:30,680 --> 00:15:33,920
Speaker 1: saw something that was so tragic and so hate filled,

246
00:15:34,320 --> 00:15:37,880
Speaker 1: and it just rallied the community in a way that

247
00:15:38,400 --> 00:15:41,840
Speaker 1: hadn't been seen in a long long time. And you know,

248
00:15:41,880 --> 00:15:47,600
Speaker 1: you often see such a huge tragedy will will rally communities,

249
00:15:48,680 --> 00:15:51,560
Speaker 1: and I think it's those kind of things that awaken

250
00:15:51,680 --> 00:15:56,880
Speaker 1: people and shock people and then they get shocked into action.

251
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:59,080
Speaker 1: And I think everyone got shocked into action by that

252
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:05,400
Speaker 1: good evening. Matthew Shepherd was not a cause, He was

253
00:16:05,440 --> 00:16:09,200
Speaker 1: not an issue. Matthew Shepherd was a young man who

254
00:16:09,200 --> 00:16:12,720
Speaker 1: had a future and was denied that future. All the

255
00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:16,000
Speaker 1: candlelight vigels, the best tribute we can get to Matthew

256
00:16:17,200 --> 00:16:20,360
Speaker 1: is to cherish life every day. It really brought a

257
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:26,600
Speaker 1: lot of allies out. I am a wife, heterosexual, raised

258
00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:32,440
Speaker 1: as a Catholic Republican, and I am so ashamed of

259
00:16:32,520 --> 00:16:35,160
Speaker 1: my people right now. It brought a lot of people

260
00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:39,200
Speaker 1: who you wouldn't necessarily anticipate would be an activist or

261
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,440
Speaker 1: would go out and you know, March, I am so

262
00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:58,960
Speaker 1: piste off. I can't stop crying. And it just hit

263
00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,400
Speaker 1: me why I am so devastated by it. It's because

264
00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,159
Speaker 1: this is what I was trying to stop. This is

265
00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:11,600
Speaker 1: exactly why I did what I did. It happened all

266
00:17:11,640 --> 00:17:14,439
Speaker 1: over the country, it happened all over the world. It

267
00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:18,480
Speaker 1: really brought attention to you know, this is this is

268
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:22,640
Speaker 1: a problem, and the you know, everyone's like they're asking

269
00:17:22,720 --> 00:17:25,560
Speaker 1: for special rights, and you know, we were like, no,

270
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,919
Speaker 1: we're asking for for equal rights. And that helped the

271
00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,840
Speaker 1: allies get behind saying you know, yeah, they need these

272
00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,240
Speaker 1: protections and they need this. And it really just created

273
00:17:36,280 --> 00:17:40,919
Speaker 1: an army of young activists that spread out and and

274
00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,480
Speaker 1: shows the nonprofit world to to go. And I have

275
00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:48,040
Speaker 1: so many friends that decided to do it right at

276
00:17:48,080 --> 00:17:51,439
Speaker 1: the same time as me, and and matt was one

277
00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,160
Speaker 1: of the underlying issues, or one of the motivations for

278
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:58,040
Speaker 1: for everybody to do that, to get out there and

279
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,159
Speaker 1: make an impact, because it could have in any one

280
00:18:01,200 --> 00:18:17,440
Speaker 1: of us. We'll be right back. Thanks to the work

281
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:22,080
Speaker 1: of organizations like the Matthew Shepherd Foundation and dedicated activists

282
00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,840
Speaker 1: inspired by his life and death, the last twenty years

283
00:18:25,840 --> 00:18:31,879
Speaker 1: have seen tremendous strides for the LGBTQ community. April of

284
00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:35,639
Speaker 1: two thousand Vermont made same sex marriage legal. One of

285
00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:41,360
Speaker 1: the big stories this week is Vermont. Vermont, of all places,

286
00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:44,840
Speaker 1: has pretty much okayed gay marriage. In two thousand nine,

287
00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:47,760
Speaker 1: the Matthew Shepherd and James Bird Hate Crimes Prevention Act

288
00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,879
Speaker 1: becomes law two thousand eleven. Don't Ask, Don't Tell was

289
00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:56,760
Speaker 1: over in two historic breaking news coming out of Washington today,

290
00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:00,959
Speaker 1: the Supreme Court strikes down the defensive Mary Jacked DOMA,

291
00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:05,560
Speaker 1: which became law nineteen nineties six. This is a major,

292
00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:10,359
Speaker 1: broadly written opinion which strikes down the law on the

293
00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:16,560
Speaker 1: ground that it discriminates against gay people. In President Obama

294
00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,000
Speaker 1: acknowledge the LGBT hugh community in his State of the

295
00:19:20,119 --> 00:19:23,960
Speaker 1: Union address. That's why we defend free speech and advocate

296
00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:28,040
Speaker 1: for political prisoners, and condemn the persecution of women or

297
00:19:28,080 --> 00:19:32,680
Speaker 1: religious minorities, or people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.

298
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:35,240
Speaker 1: We do these things not only because they are likely.

299
00:19:35,440 --> 00:19:38,359
Speaker 1: In June of and I remember exactly where I was.

300
00:19:38,440 --> 00:19:40,520
Speaker 1: I was in a conference room in Boston when the

301
00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:43,399
Speaker 1: Supreme Court declare the same sex was a constitutional right.

302
00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:47,040
Speaker 1: All of us cried. It's profound. The five to four vote,

303
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,080
Speaker 1: in many ways reflecting the huge societal shift of the

304
00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:55,200
Speaker 1: last twenty years. And then in the military will allow

305
00:19:55,320 --> 00:19:58,720
Speaker 1: transgender Americans to serve. Opening in the military may have

306
00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:04,119
Speaker 1: seen stonewall and became a national monument. In more than

307
00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:09,440
Speaker 1: a LGBD candidates were elected into office in the term elections.

308
00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:12,280
Speaker 1: Once Tuesday Night's victors are sworn in, for the first

309
00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:14,879
Speaker 1: time in history, the United States will have more than

310
00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:18,840
Speaker 1: a thousand LGBTQ officials serving at once. And then you know,

311
00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:24,200
Speaker 1: we started seeing more gay, lesbian, bisexual people on on TV.

312
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:34,520
Speaker 1: The original show was fighting the tolerance, our fight dis acceptance. Hey, world,

313
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:37,600
Speaker 1: there's a new power couple on the horizon cam and

314
00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,960
Speaker 1: Mitch kitch. No, that sounds weird, ma'am. We'll find it.

315
00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:45,159
Speaker 1: I wish I knew how to quit you. I'm not.

316
00:20:46,520 --> 00:20:50,800
Speaker 1: Don't get pregnant because I don't like having sex with men.

317
00:20:51,640 --> 00:20:55,639
Speaker 1: So anyway, I'm by. You're wearing a wedding dress to

318
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:58,119
Speaker 1: my wedding. This is not a wedding dress. It's a

319
00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,239
Speaker 1: white floor link gown. It's very difference. Did it come

320
00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:03,480
Speaker 1: with a vell, No, it came in a head dress.

321
00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,680
Speaker 1: What I've been doing the show for ten years. I

322
00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,640
Speaker 1: still have the same haircut. I wear the same ten

323
00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:12,760
Speaker 1: dollar blazers Donald's. If you didn't like me, then you're

324
00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,080
Speaker 1: really probably not gonna like me now because I'm hosting

325
00:21:15,200 --> 00:21:20,760
Speaker 1: S and O and I'm like, so gay, dude, this

326
00:21:21,040 --> 00:21:25,840
Speaker 1: is Moonlight, the best picture, and I am here today

327
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,920
Speaker 1: because I am gay. And now you know, later on

328
00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:33,400
Speaker 1: we're seeing more transgender people on on TV. Listen, doc,

329
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:37,280
Speaker 1: I need my dosage. I've given five years, eighty thou

330
00:21:37,480 --> 00:21:41,080
Speaker 1: dollars and my freedom for this. I'm finally who I'm

331
00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,840
Speaker 1: supposed to be. Do you understand I can't go back.

332
00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,920
Speaker 1: I look at it this way. Brush always telling a

333
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:55,040
Speaker 1: lie slive eyes whole life about who he is, and uh,

334
00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:58,879
Speaker 1: I can't do that any longer. Are you? Are you

335
00:21:58,920 --> 00:22:00,840
Speaker 1: saying that you're gonna start dress sing up like a lady?

336
00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:09,040
Speaker 1: All of my whole life, I've been dressing off like

337
00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:14,200
Speaker 1: a man. This is me. It's the little it's you know,

338
00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,080
Speaker 1: getting out of the shower and the towels around your

339
00:22:18,119 --> 00:22:20,320
Speaker 1: waist and you're looking at yourself in the mirror and

340
00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:26,840
Speaker 1: you're just like there I am today. It may be

341
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:31,159
Speaker 1: a different world, but unfortunately the work to protect the

342
00:22:31,400 --> 00:22:41,000
Speaker 1: lgbt Q community must continue. In legislative session, over two

343
00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:45,960
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty potentially harmful lgbtach related bills were introduced

344
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,440
Speaker 1: throughout the country, over half of which were anti trans

345
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,879
Speaker 1: That is more than has ever been introduced in the

346
00:22:53,040 --> 00:22:57,120
Speaker 1: history of America. And so and I don't I don't

347
00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,480
Speaker 1: think people know that. And I think if people knew that,

348
00:22:59,520 --> 00:23:02,680
Speaker 1: they want to pay a little bit more attention. So,

349
00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:05,760
Speaker 1: you know, we we have to stay virgins. I'm hopeful,

350
00:23:05,800 --> 00:23:11,280
Speaker 1: I'm optimistic, but have to be vigilant. What would life

351
00:23:11,359 --> 00:23:15,200
Speaker 1: look like for the LGBT community if we didn't have

352
00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:18,480
Speaker 1: that second wave and that second stone wall. You know,

353
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:21,640
Speaker 1: I would prefer to have Matt here, But thank God

354
00:23:21,800 --> 00:23:27,560
Speaker 1: something good came out of it. Being here is humbling

355
00:23:28,840 --> 00:23:32,200
Speaker 1: and it is inspiring, and I just want to do

356
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:35,840
Speaker 1: right for the organization and really carry on the legacy

357
00:23:35,960 --> 00:23:43,000
Speaker 1: for for Matt. Thank you to my guest Jeff Mac

358
00:23:43,240 --> 00:23:49,960
Speaker 1: and to everyone at the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Next week,

359
00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:53,680
Speaker 1: on next Question, we're cooking up something special. I'm not

360
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,119
Speaker 1: a podcast host. This is I'm moonlighting. This is not

361
00:23:57,240 --> 00:24:00,600
Speaker 1: my full time gig. Alison Roman is here and she's

362
00:24:00,640 --> 00:24:03,720
Speaker 1: playing me. I'm going to take a quick breather from

363
00:24:03,760 --> 00:24:06,720
Speaker 1: my whirlwind tour, But don't worry. I'll be back before

364
00:24:06,760 --> 00:24:09,679
Speaker 1: you know it, sharing my favorite moments from my cross

365
00:24:09,760 --> 00:24:13,000
Speaker 1: country trip. But until then, you're in good hands with

366
00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: our guest host, the chef and cookbook author Alison Roman,

367
00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:25,520
Speaker 1: so stay tuned. Next Question with Katie Kurik is a

368
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,639
Speaker 1: production of I Heart Media and Katie Kurk Media. The

369
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:33,520
Speaker 1: executive producers Army, Katie Curic, and Courtney Litz. The supervising

370
00:24:33,600 --> 00:24:38,640
Speaker 1: producer is Lauren Hansen. Associate producers Derek Clemens, Adriana Fasio,

371
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,600
Speaker 1: and Emily Pinto. The show is edited and mixed by

372
00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:46,399
Speaker 1: Derrek Clemens. For more information about today's episode, or to

373
00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:49,000
Speaker 1: sign up for my morning newsletter, wake Up Call, go

374
00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:51,720
Speaker 1: to Katie Currek dot com. You can also find me

375
00:24:51,800 --> 00:24:55,480
Speaker 1: at Katie Curic on Instagram and all my social media channels.

376
00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:58,879
Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I

377
00:24:59,000 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

378
00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:03,639
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.