As  reported earlier Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina called the murder of Matthew Shepard because he was gay, a hoax. Watch the video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWm2zGTZBM0[/youtube]

Foxx has since responded to the uproar. She doesn’t express regret—which is common for her ilk—nor apologizes—which almost never happens—she simply backtracks, trying to save her own ass.

“It has come to my attention that some people have been led to believe that I think the terrible crimes that led to Matthew Shepard’s death in 1998 were a hoax,” she said. “The term “hoax” was a poor choice of words used in the discussion of the hate crimes bill. Mr. Shepard’s death was nothing less than a tragedy and those responsible for his death certainly deserved the punishment they received.

“The larger context of my remarks is important. I was referring to a 2004 ABC 20/20 report on Mr. Shepard’s death. The 20/20 report questioned the motivation of those responsible for Mr. Shepard’s death. Referencing this media account may have been a mistake, but if so it was a mistake based on what I believed were reliable accounts.”

While Judy Shepard has yet to respond to the original remarks, others in Congress have. From Politico:

“Matthew Shepard’s mother was in the gallery yesterday and I believe she was back today — so I’m sorry she had to be around to hear it,” said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). “It’s an urban myth… And I’d tell her that man did land on the moon and the moon wasn’t made out of green cheese.”

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who supports the hate crimes bill, stared in disbelief before answering a question about the statement.

“It’s just sad the Republican caucus has been reduced such a fringe,” she said. “It’s sad they would go out of their way to prevent people from getting justice.”

This isn’t the first time Foxx has put her foot in it. Two weeks ago she made some racially charged statements on the House floor. I’m sorry Virginia, but you are an ignorant, hateful bigot, and you need to immediately apologize for your remarks, especially to Judy Shepard. And then do us all a favor and walk out the f*cking door and never come back. And please, please, take Michelle Bachmann with you.

Virginia Foxx can be contacted via the methods below, and please, show her at least the same amount of respect she showed Judy Shepard.

WASHINGTON, D.C.
Phone: (202) 225-2071
Fax: (202) 225-2995

CLEMMONS, N.C.
Phone: (336) 778-0211
Fax: (336) 778-2290

BOONE, N.C.
Phone: (828) 265-0240
Fax: (828) 265-0390

An Iowa couple has stepped forward with an editorial in the Des Moines Register and a video produced by the Iowa Family Policy Center, both claiming that their son was recruited by homosexuals and later died from AIDS because of it.

From the editorial:

The single most tragic event in our years together has been the untimely death of our oldest son, Randy. Our firstborn was a blessing that brought so much joy into our lives. He was extremely smart, he participated in extracurricular activities, graduated with many honors and went on to college. After college, he moved to Omaha and took a job. It was while he was living in Omaha that one of Randy’s co-workers recruited him into the homosexual “lifestyle.”

We loved our son as much as any parents have ever loved a son. Even when we became aware of his homosexuality, we assured him of our love. That is not to say that we condoned or accepted what we knew to be a dangerous “lifestyle,” but we always maintained our relationship with the son we had raised and the man we prayed would be delivered from homosexuality.

…

It was interesting to note that once Randy was diagnosed HIV positive, the homosexual community who had actively recruited him and had claimed to be his “family” were nowhere to be found. As his health declined, he spoke frankly about the homosexual experience. Randy said, “It is not an alternate lifestyle. It is a cult.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw9sKC7yZpE[/youtube]

While I can’t help but have sympathy for their loss, the notion their son was “recruited by homosexuals” is ridiculous, and eagerly await Randy’s friends to step forward and dispute the charge. I also feel sorry for them, allowing a group like the Iowa Family Policy Center  use them to further their own anti-gay agenda.

In a surprising move the New Hampshire Senate passed a gay marriage bill by a 13-11 margin, including some last minute additions to placate conservatives. From Reuters:

The last-minute changes to the legislation would allow clergy to decline to marry homosexual couples and give couples the freedom to either keep the words “bride” and “groom” on marriage licenses, or use the word “spouse” instead.

Because the Senate and House passed separate versions, they must resolve their differences before the bill can go to the governor, who in 2007 signed a law recognizing same-sex civil unions, making New Hampshire the fourth state to do so.

If the governor signs the bill New Hampshire will become the 5th state to allow same-sex couples to marry.

H.R. 1913, the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, has just passed in the House of Representatives by a margin of 249 to 175. The bill would add hate crimes protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.

Perhaps the most offensive moment of the proceedings (and there were many) came when Rep. Virginia Fox (R) of North Carolina said that Matthew Shepard was murdered because was gay… a hoax..

“The bill was named after a very unfortunate incident that happened, where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. The bill was named for him, the hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s, it’s really a hoax, that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWm2zGTZBM0[/youtube]