Posted in .

ADL Presents Judy Shepard at Cocktails for Equality

  • November 13, 2019

On Tuesday, November 12, 2019, over 75 professionals came together at the Comisky Conference Center for an evening of networking and conversation with Judy Shepard. Mrs. Shepard is the mother of the late Matthew Shepard and cofounder of the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Since her son’s tragic death in 1998 due to a vicious anti-gay attack, Mrs. Shepard along with her husband Dennis have been touring the world advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and fighting to expand state and federal hate crime legislation. In 2009, President Obama signed into legislation the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act expanding the federal hate crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender identity, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. ADL was instrumental in helping draft and shape this piece of legislation alongside the Byrd and Shepard families for 15 years.