The Department of Justice Community Relations Service released a new roll-call training video, “Law Enforcement and the Transgender Community,” to provide officers with respectful, relevant and informed approaches for engaging transgender individuals. It features scenarios of three of the most common ways that law enforcement interact with members of the transgender community: traffic stops, hate…
West Wing Weekly is a podcast produced by Joshua Malina and Hrishi Hirway that is an episode-by-episode discussion of popular television series The West Wing. The plot of the thirteenth episode of season one, “Take out the Trash Day,” involves the president signing new hate crimes legislation after a teenager was killed for being gay.…
Activist and volunteer Zachary Mallory, 19, is the recipient of the 2016 Spirit of Matthew Award, an annual tribute given by the Matthew Shepard Foundation. The award highlights a young person who is advancing the work of the Foundation by promoting diversity, acceptance, and understanding through their words and actions. The award will be given…
On June 14, founder and president of the Matthew Shepard Foundation Judy Shepard joined Randy Berry (U.S. State Department LGBTI Special Envoy), Michele Josue (director of Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine) and Jason Marsden (Executive Director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation) for an interactive webchat on global LGBTI rights and hate crimes prevention.…
We’re going to briefly but diligently address the absurdity of things such as “Heterosexual Pride Day” trending internationally on Twitter. The general inspiration for the trending topic can be summarized as: “What’s wrong with straight people expressing pride in who they are? If LGBTQ+ people get a day, or month, why shouldn’t we?” It’s the…
In the aftermath of tragedy, so many of us are left helpless with too many questions left unanswered. As the LGBTQ+ community and its allies continue to try to make sense of the tragedy at Orlando’s gay nightclub Pulse on June 12, claiming 49 innocent lives, the one question we can answer is “How can I…
By Jason Marsden, Executive Director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation We cannot fathom the sheer hatred that would lead someone to shoot down more than a hundred complete strangers gathered in their community’s own safe space to innocently celebrate. Last night’s massacre at an Orlando gay bar is the latest senseless tragedy to befall our…
Last week America witnessed a bold and unprecedented stand for the basic dignity of the trans* community — not only with moving symbolism, but with the promise of increased federal action. On May 9, U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch firmly aligned the Department of Justice with equality for transgender Americans: “We see you. We stand with you … And please know that history is on your side.”
Nicole Maines, a trans activist and 2015 Spirit of Matthew Award recipient, delivered a TEDx Talk titled “Transgender: You’re Part of the Story.” In 2011, Nicole, her twin brother Jonas and their parents, Kelly and Wayne, brought tremendous progress to her school district in Portland, Maine, through activism and ultimately a successful lawsuit with the support of…
