Today in History: On October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard was beaten and left tied to a fence post outside Laramie, Wyoming. Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming, was attacked by two men after they offered Shepard a ride but found out he was gay. He was found tied to the fence 18 hours later by a passing cyclist. Shepard, now in a coma, was rushed to the hospital where he died five days later. The death sparked conversation and debate about whether crimes against homosexuals should be considered hate crimes. The Matthew Shepard Act would finally be signed into law by Barack Obama in 2009, extending hate-crime legislation to include homosexuals.
