The parents of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student murdered in 1998, assailed Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday for what they called hypocrisy on LGBT rights during a Justice Department ceremony commemorating a hate-crimes law named after their son, the Associated Press reports. The ceremony, held in the department’s Great Hall, marked the 10th anniversary of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama in October 2009. The act expanded the 1969 federal hate-crime law to include crimes based on a victim’s sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Judy and Dennis Shepard, unable to attend due to a prior commitment, prepared a statement that was read at the ceremony by Cynthia Deitle, a former FBI agent who is now programs and operations director for the Denver-based Matthew Shepard Foundation. The Shepards praised Justice Department employees who over the years have worked to implement and enforce the act, but they blasted Barr — and by extension President Donald Trump ’s administration — because the department argued last week before the Supreme Court that employers should be able to fire employees because they are transgender. The administration also has taken other steps to roll back protections for LGBT people. “Mr. Barr, you cannot have it both ways,” the Shepards’ statement said. “Either you believe in equality for all or you don’t. We do not honor our son by kowtowing to hypocrisy.”