Today’s world is full of different cultural beliefs and statements that are often cast off the wayside. That is people keep things to themselves in order to keep peace among a population. We tend to not speak our minds on a position unless we feel that it can make an impact on what others are thinking at the time. When a crime is committed such as in the Laramie Project it creates an opportune moment for people to discuss and bring to light their personal and cultural philosophies because it finally gives them a legitimate reason to do so.
The beating and eventual death of Matthew Shepard could have gone unnoticed by the entire nation and just been a state wide issue had it not been for the fact that Matthew was gay. His being gay garnered national attention for the simple fact that he was gay. Laramie was known for it’s larger than average gay population, and that it didn’t bother most people. In the words of Marge Murray, “As far as the gay issue, I don’t give a damn one way or the other as long as they don’t bother me. And even if they did, I’d just say no thank you. And that’s the attitude of most of the Laramie population.” (Kaufman). So as you see most of the population in Laramie did not have too much concern with the gay population as long as they kept to themselves and weren’t coming onto people they shouldn’t.
When people found out that the person who had been brutally beaten, was gay word spread fast and before the town knew it the whole nation was watching Laramie Wyoming. “Had this been a heterosexual these two boys decided to take out and rob, this never would have made the national news. Now my son is guilty before he’s even had a trial.” (Kaufman). This statement makes a great point. What would the outcome had been like if Matthew was not a homosexual? Most likely the whole event would have died out much sooner and would not have gained national attention.
But Matthew was gay, and it did attract national attention. In an interview with a catholic priest, he spoke of the vigil, “You know, should we, uh, should we call the bishop and ask him permission to do the vigil? And I was like, Hell, no, I’m not going to do that. His permission doesn’t make it correct, you realize that? And I’m not knocking bishops, but what is correct is correct.” (Kaufman). A catholic priest condoning a gay person’s lifestyle, this surely would not have happened had this event not garnered national attention. But when something of this magnitude happens in a small town like Laramie, people stick up for what they really believe and not what they are told to believe even if it is part of their religion. This was true for most of the town. Many people started showing their views on the situation and helped support Matthews cause by banding together against the hate being portrayed by some of the population.
During the homecoming parade for the local college, a gay man was watching from his window because he couldn’t make it out on account of an injury. He said, “And then I noticed the most incredible thing...as the parade came down the street...the number of people walking for Matthew Shepard had grown five times. There were at least five hundred people marching for Matthew. Five hundred people.” (Kaufman). Its sad to say, but before the event happened, that many people marching along in a parade for a gay man probably would not have happened. However because it had grown to be such an epidemic, people wanted to visually show their support instead of keep to themselves like they used to. In a way this is wrong, but it shows how such an important event can really bring to light just how people view a certain subject.
The murder of Matthew Shepard definitely acted as a lightning rod in the community. It brought to light the many views of its citizens although some controversial, it was for the better. It helped shed light on what needs to be done to ensure the homosexual community is treated fairly in their everyday life. It also shined a light on just how many people are for or against it, really giving the town an idea of who is who. The fact that a catholic priest was condoning it speaks for itself. This gave the town an opportunity, as sad as it may be, a chance to speak up, once and for all.

Works Cited
Kaufman, Moises. The Laramie Project. New York: Vintage, n.d.