U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, is taking heat for comments she made on the floor of the House of Representatives this morning.
During a discussion of a hate-crimes bill that would give gay victims of violence more federal protection, Foxx referred to the beating of beating of Matthew Shepard as a hoax.
"I also would like to point out that there was a bill — the hate crimes bill that's called the Matthew Shepard bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn't because he was gay."
She added: "This — the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it's really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills."
Shepard, 21, a gay college student, was robbed, beaten and left to die on prairie in Wyoming in 1998. Two men pleaded guilty in his death and have said that they singled out Shepard because he was gay.
Video of Foxx's comments were posted on the Web site Politico.com and on Youtube and this afternoon the Human Rights Campaign issued a statement refuting Foxx's assessments.
"Vile lies, like the one spread by Rep. Foxx today on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about Matthew's brutal hate-fueled murder, continues to underscore how extreme anti-LGBT opponents have become," said Brad Luna, the communications director for the HRC.
A spokesman for Foxx acknowledged that Foxx made the comments, but said that she based them on news reports that questioned whether the men killed Shepard because he was gay.
The bill passed by a vote of 249-175.
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