Rep. Foxx Pens Apology to Shepard

U.S. representative from North Carolina Virginia Foxx has written a letter to Judy Shepard apologizing for her use of the word "hoax" in describing Shepard's son's 1998 killing not as a hate-crime murder but as a death that occurred during the commitment of a simple robbery, she said in an interview with Winston-Salem, N.C., television station WXII.

The Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, passed in the House on April 29. A companion bill to add LGBT protections to the existing federal hate-crimes law is awaiting a vote in the Senate. During the floor debate prior to the House vote, Foxx said of Matthew Shepard's 1998 murder, "But we know...it wasn't because he was gay. The bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax."

Foxx says she sent Judy Shepard a handwritten note apologizing for saying anything that "offended" her. "I know that she's hurting and I would never do anything to add to that."

Shepard appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show last week, unable to accept Foxx's earlier attempt at an apology. "It's apologizing for semantics, not for her sentiment or actually what she said, her insensitivity, and her ignorance," Shepard said. "She's apologizing for semantics."

When asked directly whether she now believes Shepard's murder was a hate crime, she responded to WXII reporter Jermont Terry with a small laugh. "I think that I used the wrong word, and I think we should just let it go at that."

Despite coming under fire, Foxx still does not support the hate-crimes bill, which she voted against. "I think it divides people in this country. It sets up special classes of people."

She went on to say she still regrets her choice of a "poor word" and that "unfortunately sometimes that gets blown out of proportion."

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Name: Ben
Date posted: 5/6/2009 6:11:00 PM
Hometown: NY

Comment:
The only hoax I see is this ignorant redneck prancing about Washington and masquerading as a Congresswoman.
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Name: michael
Date posted: 5/6/2009 5:56:00 PM
Hometown: boston

Comment:
"special class of people"? hummmm... the current hate crimes law already has "race, gender, ethnicity & religion" included. We just want to ADD sexual orientation. This woman just keeps digging herself in deeper and deeper...
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Name: Michele Arbour-(1)
Date posted: 5/6/2009 5:43:00 PM
Hometown: michigan

Comment:
REP.FOXX,THE DAMAGE IS DONE!RESIGN!
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Name: 27 Names for Tears
Date posted: 5/6/2009 5:33:00 PM
Hometown: Claireville

Comment:
Narcissists have a whole different attitude toward conflict. They use it strategically to manipulate. They seek conflict. They become impossible people, flying into conflict with you over anything you think, say, do, feel, or wear. As if THEY have the right to determine what you say, survive, live, think, do, feel, or wear. This isn't just arrogance. Those creatures make a kind of living condition reflective of their nature. It's a animalistic & horrific reality in which you're damned if you do and damned if you don't, because they are being deliberately impossible to please.
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Name: 27 Names for Tears
Date posted: 5/6/2009 5:30:00 PM
Hometown: Claireville

Comment:
One simple but easy-to-forget thing about narcissists is that, unlike normal people, they don't mind conflict. They enjoy it and come alive. Conflict makes normal people uncomfortable. We try to minimize it in our dealings with others. Oddly, we love it in fiction (Conflict is the gunpowder of fiction, and it's near relative - controversy - is the gunpowder of journalism. Maintaining constant conflict is the secret to storytelling success). But note that this is "safe" conflict. In real life we hate what we love to see characters go through in fiction.
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Name: Robb
Date posted: 5/6/2009 5:29:00 PM
Hometown: Orlando

Comment:
Leftypower is SO right. Thanks for making the effort to call. I, personally, appreciate it.
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Name: Joe
Date posted: 5/6/2009 4:33:00 PM
Hometown: Fort Worth

Comment:
If Foxx still doesn't believe that Matthew Shepard's murder was a hate crime, any apology is moot.
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Name: Unapologetic Fag Queer Homo
Date posted: 5/6/2009 4:16:00 PM
Hometown: CA.

Comment:
Jessie Helms II
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Name: leftypower
Date posted: 5/6/2009 3:49:00 PM
Hometown: Brooklyn

Comment:
I called Congresswoman Foxx's office yesterday and told them I'd be contributing to and volunteering for her opponent in the 2010 election. These people need to know we are serious and will take action against their bigotry. The man answering the phone thanked me for my comment and hung up on me.
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Name: Chris Sullivan
Date posted: 5/6/2009 2:34:00 PM
Hometown: Chicago, IL

Comment:
A "special class of people" - you mean like - people who follow organized religion? They certainly are treated as though they are special - since she is clearly implying that those people's views are more important/valid than others. She is an ignorant phony. People like here are the reason GLBT people suffer harassment or worse.

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