Historic Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. will host a candlelight vigil to remember hate crime victim Matthew Shepard on the 15th anniversary of his death. The event coincides with National Coming Out Day on October 11, and renews the call for acceptance of LGBT people.
The vigil will follow the evening’s performance of The Laramie Project, Moises Kaufman’s award-winning play about the Shepard murder.
The weekend of October 11, 2013, marks the 15th year since Shepard, a gay college student, was abducted, tied to a fence, beaten and left to die by two assailants in Laramie, Wyoming. His murder claimed national and international attention and has become one of the most widely known anti-gay hate crimes in American history. The crime sparked public outrage that led to the passage of the federal Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009.
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