Carroll College
in Helena, Mont., says it will not allow the Montana
Human Rights Network to set up a table on campus next week
during a lecture by Matthew Shepard's mother because
of threats from a radical anti gay group.
Judy Shepard is scheduled to speak at the
college Tuesday about the impact of the death of her
son, a gay 21-year-old who was murdered in Wyoming in
1998. The case drew international attention after it was
reported that Matthew Shepard was killed because he was gay.
His killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson,
deny that the attack was a hate crime and say their
goal was to rob Matthew Shepard for drug money.
Christine Kaufmann, codirector of the Human
Rights Network, said the organization wanted to set up
a table with brochures at the lecture because the
college is "dancing around" the theory that Matthew
Shepard was murdered because he was gay. "We thought that it
was important, since they were not willing to say he
was gay, that there should be something about gay and
lesbian equality there," Kaufmann said. "It's also
important for people in the community to support the
organizations that work to carry forth the kind of climate
that promotes tolerance."
Nancy Lee,
spokeswoman for Carroll, said the purpose of the lecture is
to promote tolerance. But the Kansas-based Westboro
Baptist Church, known for its strongly worded anti-gay
literature, has threatened to picket the event. One
flier from the group even makes reference to the use of
"improvised explosive devices," Lee said.
The police have been notified, security will be
on hand, and no picketers will be allowed on the
private campus, Lee said.
Still, Westboro members could enter the public
lecture unnoticed, then disrupt it, she said. "The
table request is where it gets difficult," Lee said.
"If we had the tables out there, we're just asking for
a confrontation, and we don't want to go there." In a
letter to Kaufmann, Jim Harwick, vice president for student
life at Carroll, said Matthew Shepard's story is not
unfamiliar on campus: Freshman have been required to
attend a screening of The Laramie Project for
the past three years. The movie is based on Matthew
Shepard's death.
Lee also noted that Carroll's gay and lesbian
alliance is scheduled to meet with Judy Shepard. (AP)