Rep. Steve King: Matthew Shepard’s Sexual Orientation Had Nothing To Do With His Murder
Rep. Steve King: Matthew Shepard’s Sexual Orientation Had Nothing To Do With His Murder
Yesterday, the House voted “to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation” by passing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
The right put its homophobia on full display in an attempt to kill the legislation, with Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) saying that it would lead to Nazism, and the legalization of necrophilia, pedophilia, and bestiality.
Today in an interview with Radio America/WorldNetDaily, Rep. Steve King (R-IA)
– who has said that hate crimes legislation creates “sacred cows” and puts the “victimizer’s focus on someone else” — tried to argue that such a bill is unnecessary. His argument? Matthew Shepard himself wasn’t actually murdered because he was gay:
KING: I didn’t make the point, but others did, that James Byrd was sentenced to death in Texas, and I don’t know if that sentence has been carried out yet. But he received highest penalty available under the law for the dragging death of James Byrd. And the Matthew Shepard case, there’s been a fair amount of information that came out that that really wasn’t the motivation of the people who killed him, but they did receive the maximum penalty under the law.
Listen here:
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) made this same claim in April: “We know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay.” Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solomnese wrote the congresswoman a letter calling on her to make a full apology. Foxx eventually said that she was “sorry” if Shepard’s “grieving family was offended by my statement,” but she stood by her comments that his murder may not have been motivated by hate.
Both Foxx and King are completely out of line. As Salon reported in November 1999:
Speculation has persisted for the past year that Matthew Shepard, rather than being the victim of gay-bashing, might really have been nothing more than a hapless robbery victim who was exploited by gay activists to reap unwarranted sympathy and advance their own agenda to enact hate-crimes legislation. Statements made by one of the convicted killers, which were revealed for the first time Thursday, reveal these accounts to be false. [...]
According to detectives who interviewed both of the convicted murderers, there is no evidence that Shepard made any sexual advances to the pair — and the detectives dismissed the idea that the murder was the mere result of a robbery gone bad. “Far from that!” scoffed Sgt. Rob DeBree, the chief investigator in the case. “They knew damn well he was gay. … It started out as a robbery and burglary, and I sincerely believe the other activity was because he was gay.”
Will King now follow Foxx and apologize to the Shepard family for making these comments?
(HT: Michael O’Brien)
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Rep. Steven King…let me guess, Republican?
How can an entire political party just dwell in the obliviousness of it’s own ignorance?
October 9th, 2009 at 5:06 pmGod Dammit! WTF! This man has got to be one of the worst. His inflamatory statements, his rhetoric. Everytime he talks, he is insulting and unbelievable.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pmThe outrage of King’s comments don’t really lie in what he said (as abhorrent and homophobic as his comments really are) but in the the fact there are legions of dullards out there who actually believe his nonsense.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pmRep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) saying that it would lead to Nazism, and the legalization of necrophilia, pedophilia, and bestiality
What is it with Repukes and their constant fantasising about this stuff?
It seems to be a constant theme for them….they’ve got some issues alright…
…and it is their minds, they aren’t right in the head.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:07 pm.
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) hates…
… P E R I O D!
… Hates gays
… Hates Democrats
… Hates Obama
… Hates Mathew Sheppard
HATE, HATE, HATE…
… NO ROOM FOR CHRISTIAN COMPASSION in this man.
.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:10 pmBuckie Boy,
October 9th, 2009 at 5:12 pmThey hate it because they desire it.
They hate it because to them, 1+1 = 11.
Facts? You want facts? We don’t need no stinkin’ facts! These Republicans are ignoring the testimony and jury verdict about the murder. Of course, facts don’t matter when the opinions are more important.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:12 pmWhoo boy…
The Nutters are trying to end the week on bang…
Teh Stoopid is flowing like wine today…
October 9th, 2009 at 5:14 pmIt gets tiring, you know. All this hate coming from the Righties is palpable. Do they honestly think they are winning over people? Everytime they speak, hatred comes out. Whether it’s about Democrats, women, gays… All week, we have been subjected to insults, rants, Temper tantrums. These people want an all white Utopia. One where they can bomb anyone they please and subject anyone who isn’t a white male into submission.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:14 pmP.D.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:14 pmKing reminds me of Darryyll…
… My boyfriend. He just refuses to be called that.
Come on Texas, get the heck out of America…. You’re an embarrassment even to stupid people.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:17 pmWhether or not a specific murder was motivated by hate is irrelevant. Any specific murder could be put before these clowns and they’ll find some way to claim it wasn’t a “hate” crime, even if they have to make stuff up.
The issue here is if there should be an added penalty if a violent crime was motivated by hatred for someone’s race, color, ethnicity, religion, etc. And if one’s sexual orientation should be added to that list.
The law shouldn’t hinge on whether or not Matthew Shepard was killed because he was gay. It should hinge on whether or not ANYBODY being killed because of their sexual orientation is a crime motivated by bigotry.
Can King and Foxx convince me that violent crimes against people who are gay NEVER happen just because they are gay? Until they can do that, they have no case.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:18 pmIt’s well know that the two men made anti-gay statements to the two women who helped them try to cover up the crime and the women told police about that.
I guess to King that’s irrelevant.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:21 pmNail on head, missmolly. Nail on head.
Most of the Congresspeople we meet here on TP are simple fools and buffoons.
Steve King, on the other hand, is a pig. He’s a virulent, toxic creep who devalues the democratic process imply by participating in it.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:22 pmRep King (R-IA) when was the last time you got to enjoy a fresh off the stalk cob of corn shoved up your tailpipe?
October 9th, 2009 at 5:23 pmThe Increased Penalties for Hate Crimes is Not just to provide Justice for the Victim…
It is Also to Address the INTIMIDATION of a Whole Group of Others ( usually a Minority, with a History of being discriminated against by Bigots.)
October 9th, 2009 at 5:24 pmThings (R)epublicans hate…
… Gays(duh)
… Equality
… Human Rights
… Obama
… Nobel Prize Awards
… Keith Olbermann
… Muslims
… Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan
… Mexicans
… Pelosi
… Environmental Sciences
… Affordable Health Care
… Accountability
… Investigations
… Woman’s Personal Choice
However, (R)epublicans DO NOT hate…
… Profits
… CEO salaries
… More Tax Cuts for the Top 1%
… Lying
.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:29 pmRep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) saying that it would lead to Nazism, and the legalization of necrophilia, pedophilia, and bestiality.
– - Uhh Lou-I, Lou-I, ohhhh, I say-uh YOU gotta go….yah, yah, yah, yah, yah….
October 9th, 2009 at 5:30 pmLeads to Nazism? Rep. Gomer (R of Stupid) obviously is just spouting words about which he has very little clue. History Lesson 101: Nazis interned gays in their little concentration camps and exterminated them with impunity. That little pink triangle thingy that gay activists put on their T-shirts is actually the Nazi symbol used to identify them on their camp uniforms. History lesson over Rep. Retard of Texas.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:37 pmMurphis says:
he right wing nutjob
There – fixed it for you…
October 9th, 2009 at 5:37 pmMan, I’ve seen some lame trolls in my time, but none approaches Murphis for unadulterated lameness. It’s like if he could expend any less effort, he wouldn’t have enough energy to hit the “submit comment” button.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:38 pmIm thinking he hits the submit button when his forehead hits the keyboard.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:41 pmA minor correction. Gohmert is the one from Texas. Mr. King is from Iowa.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:44 pmthese guys like King, Foxx, Gohmert, Bachmann just keep talking. you never know what’s going to come out of their mouths next. these guys are so hilariously idiotic… and they actually represent people.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:45 pmMatthew Shepard’s killers left behind one entirely revealing sign as to their motivations. It was how they left his body, hung over a barb-wire fence.
Out here in the West, out in the country where every other pick-up’s got a 30-30 or a 30-.06 in the gunrack, that’s how the ranchers and farmers–the real murkins–dispose of the carcasses of the vermin they kill. Coyotes, usually. They drape the dead animal over the fence as a warning to its kin…I am NOT making this up. I have lived there…
The killers betrayed their mindset towards Shepard by the way they set him out for desecration, when he wasn’t even dead yet.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:47 pmyou’ve got to be fcuking kidding me
October 9th, 2009 at 5:48 pmSo I guess that means the Pope isn’t Catholic?
October 9th, 2009 at 5:51 pm: (
October 9th, 2009 at 5:52 pmAll roads lead to Naziism with those jokers, even the one they are on.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:53 pm“Rep. Steve King: Matthew Shepard’s Sexual Orientation Had Nothing To Do With His Murder”
Please.. King wants attention and airtime. Pay no attention to the GOP idiot behind the curtain. Pass the popcorn please…
OT
Looks like Guv. Jindal slithers in the conference call with VP Biden on the Recovery Act. Looks like he is sneaking to get some of the stimulus cash. What a hypocrite:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Vice President
——————————————
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 9, 2009
VICE PRESIDENT BIDEN HOSTS CONFERENCE CALLS WITH
GOVERNORS, MAYORS, AND COUNTY OFFICIALS TO DISCUSS RECOVERY ACT IMPLEMENTATION
Earlier today, the Vice President hosted two conference calls with Governors, Mayors, and county officials from across the country to discuss implementation of the Recovery Act.
The following elected officials participated:
• GOVERNORS:
• Governor Jim Gibbons (R-NV)
• Governor Brad Henry (D-OK)
• Governor Bobby Jindal (R-LA)
• Governor Joe Manchin (D-WV)
MAYORS AND COUNTY OFFICIALS:
• Mayor Duke Bennett (R – Terre Haute, IN)
• Mayor Phil Gordon (D – Phoenix, AZ)
• Mayor Dave Smith (R – Newark, CA)
• Mayor Jim Suttle (D – Omaha, NE)
• County Supervisor Scott Haggerty (D – Alameda County, CA)
• County Executive Jim Kreuser (D – Kenosha County, WI)
Stay classy, Bobby.
October 9th, 2009 at 5:54 pmWhether or not a specific murder was motivated by hate is irrelevant.
um, ianalb, means, motive, and opportunity? are they still tri-pod of proving guilt? absent one, the prosecutorial edifice collapses, nest paw? we prosecute for ‘depraved indifference.’ why not ‘depraved difference’?
just sayin…
October 9th, 2009 at 5:54 pmI’m throwing everything at the wall today! I’m mad!This is not fair. On Monday we had Obami’s foreign policy in the tubes; on Friday you throw this Nobel Prize up our asses? I want all the attention back on Obami’s loss of the Olympics. Wee found our voeece! President God Bush said he wanted to be the peace president, where’s his prize for that?????????
October 9th, 2009 at 6:01 pmSomething is wrong. A King nutjob thread and only Ug Ug Murphis makes a solo post?
October 9th, 2009 at 6:06 pmWe’re reopening the investigation of a lot of things these days. We will stop at nothing until all reality “liberal” bias is erased, including the bible. We are going all out.
I think Foxx and King should get their own detective show, where the plot line is to go across the country to usurp investigative findings by opening new investigations of their own, rooting out liberal bias whereever they find it and coming back with the principled conservative findings.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:07 pmNecrophilia?
October 9th, 2009 at 6:10 pmSo if this both this hate crime and health care legislation pass, my dead granny will get to have sex?
Murphis
No he is not right but YOU are a moron
October 9th, 2009 at 6:13 pmI don’t think I saw my dear friend the llama about but I am curious what behavioral pathology the rest of you think might explain the Murphis matter. Normally I would leave such leeser oddballs to my grad students but…
October 9th, 2009 at 6:14 pmmissmolly says:
Whether or not a specific murder was motivated by hate is irrelevant. Any specific murder could be put before these clowns and they’ll find some way to claim it wasn’t a “hate” crime, even if they have to make stuff up.
The law shouldn’t hinge on whether or not Matthew Shepard was killed because he was gay. It should hinge on whether or not ANYBODY being killed because of their sexual orientation is a crime motivated by bigotry.
That is an incorrect analysis. Almost all crimes are committed for three reasons: money, sex and revenge. Hate crimes do not fall within the purview of these three reasons. Hate for a specific group is the element that distinguishes a hate crime murder from the standard charge of murder. Just because someone belongs to a group protected by the hate crimes statutes does not qualify it for a hate crime. Prosecutors must still prove that hate for the specific group is what motivated the murder. That is an additional element of the crime.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:14 pmMurphis says:
ya tat guy gay
And you’re not? LOL! Overcompensating closet cases like yourself are and King are always the biggest bigots.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:15 pmMurphis
STFU and go away. Actual human beings are trying to have a conversation.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:15 pmOoops
October 9th, 2009 at 6:15 pmthat should read “the” grad students and not “my”
I have an idea for a new legislative thrust: how about a law that mandates gay marriage “for all political conservatives, Republicans, and neocons,” while it “forbids heterosexual marriage and reproduction” amongst the same cluster of dunderheads? In two generation, three at the most, we could conceivably be free of Kings, Gohmerts, Coburns, Sanfords, Ensigns, Diaper Daves … etc. I can’t see any problem, really, in fact a good many of them would probably pray for passage!
Imagine it: a nation without conservatives! The USA’s collective IQ would probably double within fifty years!
Just a thought.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:18 pmThe repugs are addicted to invalidating anything they don’t understand
October 9th, 2009 at 6:23 pmor agree with.
They seek control by manipulating the truth into their own reality
because it makes them feel powerful.
Pathological lying.
Repuglican revisionist history……. again!
October 9th, 2009 at 6:29 pmdbadass says:
I don’t think I saw my dear friend the llama about but I am curious what behavioral pathology the rest of you think might explain the Murphis matter. Normally I would leave such leeser oddballs to my grad students but…
dbadass says:
Ooops
that should read “the” grad students and not “my”
But “leeser” is OK?
It’s just a very stupid troll with a 4th grader’s sense of humor. And not a bright 4th grader, either.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:33 pmKing represents cretins who are simply incorrigible – incapable of rational thought, driven by their own prejudices and unwilling to even consider that they may be mistaken.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:37 pmGive up on them – they are not worth it. Let them slink away to the swamp where their fellow misanthropes wallow in mud and slime.
Uh didn’t some US representative recently have a speech where he noted that that kids uniformly hate gays ? (Only he was using it to show that gays shouldn’t be allowed to exist).
Did he not see in his own schooling how gay kids become the target of rather cruel situations ?
Does he not know that in some places, there are (what amount to gangs) which go around to find gays to beat up ? The deaths are just the tip of the iceberg.
Doesn’t he know that in some places, gays have trouble doing basic living such as renting an apartment ?
These are the things that have convinced me that hate crime legislation and anti-discrimination protection should be extended to homosexuals.
OTOH – I wonder how King and the other repugs would react to groups of rednecks cruising the streets looking for republican representatives to beat up . Would he think that was OK ? Or would he retreat into his shell as elected officials are also singled out for protection by many laws.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:38 pmBut “leeser” is OK?
—
October 9th, 2009 at 6:40 pmHey the e and the s are close. BTW: I will soon be needing some turkey wine recommends…
best-
i challenge pussayboy steve king to stand up front and center of matthew sheppard’s mother and say this. then again, he is a repuke…
October 9th, 2009 at 6:49 pm.
I see the one word wonder speaks.
.
October 9th, 2009 at 6:50 pmdbadass says:
BTW: I will soon be needing some turkey wine recommends…
best-
October 9th, 2009 at 6:40 p
Just ask the turkey what she prefers…
October 9th, 2009 at 6:53 pmHey you. I have a free Friday night and my dancin’ shoes. Let’s spin some tunes after I get some grub. What do you say? “Woodeye Woodeye”?
October 9th, 2009 at 6:55 pm“Harelip, harelip.”
I’ll be there!
October 9th, 2009 at 6:56 pmMurphis
Just kill yourself you ingnorant punkass troll
October 9th, 2009 at 7:23 pmWhat??? We all know (except this idiot) that Shepherd was killed because he was gay. King is a bigot, a sexist, an idiot, a homophobe, — so many more labels that apply.
October 9th, 2009 at 7:35 pmOkay you idiot– you’re saying a man who was gay, who was murdered FOR BEING GAY- his sexual orientation didn’t matter? Are you a dolt? A moron? A nincompoop? I’d bet on the latter, although all three descriptions apply to you.
October 9th, 2009 at 7:42 pmSorry– but “nincompoop” just has that perfect sound for idiot Repubs. Maybe it’s the “poop”.
October 9th, 2009 at 7:43 pmWhile I find the hate crimes enhancement less important in this sort of major crime, where I think we all agree that the perpetrators should be locked up for life, I can’t help but wonder how this dear young man’s family must feel at these remarks. I’m certain they want the legacy of a child’s life cut short to be anything that will help to prevent any other family from ever feeling the way they feel. Perhaps the passage of this law will reach another child who will question the hate they’ve been taught and recognize that those who are different from them are also beloved in the eyes of God.
October 9th, 2009 at 7:48 pmI think Murphis is just a parody troll. He’s kinda got the troll stupidity down pat, and does it with less words than cheese flap. It’s troll parody poetry, really.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:18 pmRE: dbadass @ 53:
Actually, a good semi-dry rose’ is best with turkey.
Do not….DO NOT under _any_ circumstances, serve Chardonnay with turkey.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:47 pmRepublicans want to execute people for jaywalking but not punish them more severely because someone was killed because of their identity?
October 9th, 2009 at 9:00 pmUh, hello? Asshat…
He is wondering if James Byrd was executed for the murder of James Byrd???
October 10th, 2009 at 9:05 amGohmert: The legislation would lead to Nazism, and the legalization of necrophilia, pedophilia, and bestiality.
You’d think that republicans would be all for that.
So Louie…explain to us, in your fear mongering, feeble little mind, exactly how expanding the definition of hate crime leads to these things?
God save America, please rapture up all of these insane, hateful, right wing neanderthals ASAP!
October 10th, 2009 at 10:41 amI’m starting to wonder if the end is really near, at least for our country. How much longer can this country survive with all of the idiots on the right within government and in the media along with their even more idiotic supporters who have voting rights, the right to bear arms and continue to breed more ignorance.
October 10th, 2009 at 10:48 amMurphis says:
nah
LOL! Another conservative troll that’s so stupid then just post single words that make no sense! We have another self loathing “village idiot” here! Daryll? Is that you? ;)
October 10th, 2009 at 1:38 pmI prefer a Reisling…
October 10th, 2009 at 1:52 pmYeah, and 55,000. ‘Merkins are killed by drunken illegal mess-kin drivers each week, too, Rep. King.
October 10th, 2009 at 2:01 pmRep. Steve King, second- rate horror fiction spewer,
Republican AssClown of the Week.
Well, maybe there should be an impromptu living memorial to Matthew Shepard.
Make the refusal to recognize Matthew Shepard’s murder as a hate crime a contributing factor to the defeat of Representative Foxx’s and King’s defeat in 2010.
October 10th, 2009 at 2:40 pm@ 73. Pardon my omission; please add Representative “Gomer” Gohmert to that list of deniers to be voted out.
October 10th, 2009 at 2:42 pmOctober 10th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Here it is exactly 10 years after the death of Mathew Shepard and exactly 40 years after the Stonewall riots. We still face discrimination, hate, and violence.
October 10th, 2009 at 3:51 pmThe 2 dummies in the Shepard case got life sentences, and the murderers of Byrd got death,(remember you guys hate the death penalty), so why do we need “hate crimes” legislation? Is Matthew Shepard, or James Byrd’s deaths more tragic than anyone elses? Let me clue you in, anybody who kills someone usually does it out of hate.
October 10th, 2009 at 7:23 pmI don’t have a problem with the gay lifestyle. It is the forcing of the gay agenda into mainstream society is what is the issue. It is not a physiologically normal lifestyle, nor it is as common as reported. I am totally against violence against people for race, religion, or sexual orientation, but to provide special protection above and beyond existing laws banning such conduct violates the 14th amendment. Hate crime laws impinge on free speech and do not work. People who commit violence as bigots are unlikely to be deterred by additional punishments. Gay civil unions which entitle them to rights comparable to married couples are fine, but to equate these relationships to natural marriage is a mistake. Why do gays want to participate in the institution of marriage, which is clearly something that applies to hetero couples only based on it’s origins in Genesis. It is not hate or bigotry to defend traditional marriage. Homosexuality for the most part (at least 95% I would assert) is environmentally induced and is a choice. Some exceptions to this are sure to exist but represents an extreme minority position.
October 10th, 2009 at 10:20 pmMay he never experience the loss of child; may his spiritual insight grow in time, may he one day understand the need for his contrition. May he refrain from being such knuckle dragging neandrathal. May he loose his reelection and may the mothers and fathers of his state realize the callous fool they have for a representative.
October 11th, 2009 at 12:22 amLibrulzRsmarterthanme
My GOD you ignorant sheeple are stupid and brainwashed. You dont have a problem with anything until you are TOLD what to think about it. Your post was a big steaming pile of stupid and YOU are a big steaming pile of dogshit. Just STFU and let the adults talk
October 11th, 2009 at 10:14 am@ 78. liberalzsuk says: I don’t have a problem with the gay lifestyle. … October 10th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Contrary to your initial assertion, it appears you have a number of problems, liberalzsuk. Think Progess is not a therapy page though; you will not be encouraged to just let it all out. I see that EugeneD has already started the process of disabusing you of your claims to thinking by abusing you. Stick around for more, we’ll be happy to call you out on just about anything.
Where to start? Hm. Genesis is NOT the origin of anything. How about that? Does that work for you?
October 11th, 2009 at 12:14 pmIt’s easy to look at the comments made by Republicans and see nothing but hate. However, I don’t believe hate is the motivation for their comments. It’s not hate but FEAR and ignorance that motivate their membership, and they know this! You can put the words “You should be afraid because” in front of almost all of the comments made by the right that are viewed as hate by the left. It works! Talk to an average republican about anything political and their first words will be “I’m afraid”. I’m afraid of socialism. I’m afraid of Obama being a Muslim. I’m afraid of Democrats killing babies. I’m afraid…. To keep their constituents dumb and scared is their only game plan to remain relevant. Tell them what they should fear and always vote NO on education. That’s their only strategy.
October 11th, 2009 at 1:19 pm@67. I realize that he misspoke, but yeah, it was really awkward.
October 11th, 2009 at 9:26 pmDid Dick Cheney know Matthew Shepard?
October 11th, 2009 at 11:00 pm@ 84. 5150 says: Did Dick Cheney know Matthew Shepard? October 11th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
don’t even go there, 5150
(snark)
October 12th, 2009 at 11:51 amYou know for a fact that some person with the name “liberalzsuk” has got to make a comment raining on everyone’s parade. We’re talking about a gay man who was killed. Nothing sickens me more than a Conservative Christian who is trying to put their views in that have nothing to do with what we are talking about.
Also, it has been said that the two men who killed him pretended to be gay so that they were able to rob him.
It’s people like Foxx who don’t understand that they pretended to be gay, then come out with idiotic comments like “we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay.”
October 12th, 2009 at 5:21 pmthere is no evidence that Shepard made any sexual advances. mezoterapi
October 15th, 2009 at 5:34 am