The Laramie Project

Matt Galloway
Baptist Minister

The Laramie project is a highly intimate play staged in Laramie, Wyoming envisioning the story behind Mathew Sheperds murder, which shook the entire United States and especially Wyoming State in its time period. Mathew Sheperds was an openly gay college student, one of very few in Laramie at the time. He was lured in by two local boys who had told him they too were gay, and beat him into a coma and left him tied to a fence in a deserted place for over 18 hours. This beating results in the passing of Mr. Sheperds three days after his discovery, leaving the two boys accountable for 2nd degree murder. Although this incident had a ground shaking impact on the community of Laramie, the citizens opinions on it varied.
The fact was that gays were not easily accepted in Laramie. And since this particular case was taken upon as a "hate crime" against the gays, people of the town had a lot to agree and disagree on. Firstly, there were people who didn't like what had happened, but didn't feel the need to take this crime as seriously as any other first degree murder crime because they didn't approve of the gays.
For example Sherry Johnson, wife of the highway patrolman of Laramie said
" Alot of that the media is portraying Matthew Shepard as a saint. and making him as a martyr. i don't think he was. I don't think he was that pure...you know about his character and the kind of person he was..everyone got problems. but why they exemplified him I don't know."(Moises Kaufmen 64)
I believe this reaction made by Mrs. Johnson was of an innate nature. Because although she indicated that she is bothered by his being gay, she also described that if it is a first degree murder and a hate crime, it is what it is and it should be tried as what it is. She saw no point in making it a national, even a global scandal. And that sort of opinion formation, I believe, comes from not biased reaction to the particular event, but how she views everything.
An example of a culturally formulated opinion would be that of the priests. The Baptist Minister who was a part of the Laramie community at the time, recognized Matthew Shepards as a sinful being. When one of the reporters interviewed him he had said the following things:
"Now as for the victim, I know that lifestyle is legal, but I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence, that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of Lord to him-and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance yo reflect on his lifestyle." (Moises Kaufmen 69)