2 little 2 late? Rep. Foxx Sends Apology Letter To Matthew Shephard's Mother

U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx has written a letter of apology to the mother of Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming man whose name is on a bill adding sexual orientation to federal hate-crimes legislation.

During recent debate on the bill, Foxx, R-5th, called attempts to label Shepard's 1998 murder a hate crime "a hoax." She said that he was killed during a robbery and not because he was gay.

Shepard, 21, was robbed, beaten and left to die on a prairie fence near Laramie, Wyo., in 1998. Two men pleaded guilty to killing him and testified that they singled him out because he was gay.

Foxx's remarks caused an uproar, and she later issued a statement saying that her use of "hoax" was "a poor choice of words."

 See Virginia Foxx Sends Apology Letter To Matthew Shephard's Mother