The month of October is, for the most part, a great one for the LGBTQ+ community. October is LGBT History Month in the United States and National Coming Out Day is October 11, but the month of October will always be stained for this vibrant community by the murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998. Shepard's death in 1998 was one that shook the country and 11 years later lead to the passing of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded legislation on what constitutes hate crimes against people of certain race, religion, color, national origin, gender, and sexuality.
This October, Matthew Shepard's ashes were brought to his final resting place as he was interred at the Washington National Cathedral. Interment in the cathedral is not something taken lightly, and only a few notable Americans such as Woodrow Wilson and Helen Keller have been afforded the honor.
At his internment former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire and the first bishop to be in an openly gay relationship in any Christian denomination, Gene Robinson gave a sermon in his honor. He urged listeners to be proactive in creating change in and not just to remember Matthew's life but to bring his experience into the present and make it their own.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "We will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." The friends that need us today are the members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Trump administration's recent threat to redefine words that could afford transgender and nonbinary people basic healthcare and other human rights is a direct attack against the community.
Matthew Shepard's interment and the other LGBTQ+ holidays that were celebrated in October were a step in the right direction, but the president has made it clear that there is no time to celebrate. Every vote will count this November, and it is every American's duty to make sure that marginalized people are given the basic rights that they deserve. It is not enough for us to look back on the crimes of the past and say that we've changed. Matthew Shepard was a man that wanted people to know his name and to create change in the world. He got his wish, though certainly not in the way he would have liked, and it is our duty this November to show him and his family that the change he created is still living.