Matthew Shepard killed in non-bias "robbery," Foxx says

North Carolina Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx is questioning whether the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay University of Wyoming student, was a bias attack motivated by his sexual orientation.

Shepard's mother Judy was in the gallery at the time, according to a senior Democratic aide.

The socially conservative Foxx, arguing against a new Democratic hate crimes bill that includes new protections for gays and lesbians, described the description of Shepard's murder as a anti-homosexual attack a "hoax" -- and questioned whether prior bias crime legislation should have been named after him.

“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.

"Matthew Shepard's mother was in the gallery yesterday and I believe she was back today -- so I'm sorry she had to be around to hear it," said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.). "It's an urban myth... And I'd tell her that man did land on the moon and the moon wasn't made out of green cheese."

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), who supports the hate crimes bill, stared in disbelief before answering a question about the statement.

"It's just sad the Republican caucus has been reduced such a fringe," she said. "It's sad they would go out of their way to prevent people from getting justice."

Two young men -- Russell Arthur Henderson and Aaron James McKinney -- were convicted in connection with the crime, with multiple witnesses testifying to their anti-gay aspect of the crime. Both also intended to rob the Sheppard home after the attack, according to press accounts.

McKinney testified that Shepard attempted to grab his leg earlier in the evening and that had spurred a "gay panic" that provoked an extraordinarily violent outburst -- with his lawyers claiming McKinney had suffered homosexual abuse as a child.

Glenn Thrush is senior staff writer at Politico Magazine.