PROTESTERS BANNED

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OCT. 17, 1998

IN A STEADY rain outside City Hall just hours before a funeral service for his son, Dennis Shepard thanked those who have sent supportive messages to the family and asked the public to respect the Shepards’ privacy.
"We should try to remember that because Matt’s last few minutes of consciousness on Earth might have been hell, his family and friends want more than ever to say their farewells to him in a peaceful, dignified and loving manner," he said.

SON DIED MONDAY
As Shepard spoke, his wife, Judy, stood behind him, weeping.
Matthew Shepard, 21, died Monday at a Colorado hospital, five days after being found pistol-whipped and tied to a fence in near-freezing temperatures outside Laramie. Two 21-year-old men have been charged with murder.
Police said robbery was the primary motive but that Shepard also was singled out because he was gay.
Dennis Shepard said his son was the kind of person who would have swiftly helped if he had come upon a scene such as the one he endured as a victim.
"If this had happened to another person, he would have been the first on the scene to offer his help, his hope, his heart, to the family," Shepard said.
Shepard said the family and the hospital where Matthew died have been swamped by cards, letters and e-mails offering support and help. The killing has drawn nationwide attention, including President Clinton’s call for Congress to pass legislation making it easier for federal prosecution of hate crimes.

PROTESTERS BANNED
Several hours before Shepard’s funeral at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, more than a dozen adults and children staged an anti-gay demonstration across the street. In a rain sometimes dotted with snow, they carried signs such as "Fear God Not Fags" and yelled anti-gay slogans.
"I came to spread some truth in this orgy of lies," said James Hockenbarger of Topeka, Kan. Hockenbarger, 21, was among nine people to come with the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church, which regularly engages in anti-homosexual picketing. There also were seven protesters from a Texas group.
Occasionally, passers-by stopped to challenge them.
"This isn’t what Jesus Christ would do. This isn’t what Christians do. They don’t condemn people," said David Anderson, 44, of Casper. "This just upsets me. This whole circus upsets me."
The Casper City Council had voted late Thursday to ban protesters from coming within 50 feet of the church during the funeral, hoping to prevent a spectacle and take pressure off mourners.
"It’s sad that we have to do this — that the sanctity of a funeral is not upheld," Councilman Tim Monroe said.
Police used bomb-sniffing dogs to make sure St. Mark’s was safe, Mayor Ed Opella said.
President Clinton sent two representatives to the funeral: Togo West, the secretary of veterans affairs, and Sean Maloney, deputy staff secretary at the White House. Maloney is the highest-ranking openly homosexual man on staff at the White House, according to deputy press secretary Amy Weiss.

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