Matthew Shepard was a young American man who became a symbol of the fight against hate crimes. Born on December 1, 1976, in Casper, Wyoming, he was a student at the University of Wyoming and openly identified as gay. Tragically, in October 1998, he was brutally attacked and murdered in a hate crime motivated by his sexual orientation. His death sparked national outrage and led to increased awareness of violence against the LGBTQ+ community. In response, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law in 2009, expanding federal hate crime legislation to include those targeted due to sexual orientation and gender identity.