Sam Farr: “this has been a rough week for parents. I think every mother and father in America trembled when we heard about Matthew…”

“this has been a rough week for parents. I think every mother and father in America trembled when we heard about Matthew Shepard's beating in Wyoming, and anxiously waited for word of his condition. And we all must have wept at the thought of a child tortured and left to die on a country road. I hope every parent did what I wanted to do: hug your children, and hold them close. But along with the rest of the House and Senate, I am trapped in Washington while Congress debates our budget. And being 3,000 miles away meant, unfortunately, that I was not able to stand with my neighbors at the local events organized to remember Matt. This was a crime beyond words, and I have not yet found a way to sufficiently express my grief and compassion for the Shepard family, just as our nation has not yet found a way to respond to this tragedy. As a legislator, my thoughts turn to the actions our nation can take through our lawmaking process. It is a sad but bitter truth that no law can return this talented, kind-hearted young man to his family and friends. But we are a nation of laws, and our government cannot stand by without a response. In a year when voices from our Capitol have likened homosexuality to kleptomania, in a year when our newspapers and magazines have been filled with the harmful words of groups urging gay men and lesbians to change who they are, we must respond.…”