“‘We know that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay,’ Foxx said during debate. ‘The bill was named for him, the hate-crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.’” Ladies and gentlemen, today’s rump Republican party in action: During House debate, North Carolina Congresswoman Virginia Foxx deems the anti-gay murder of Matthew Shepherd in 1998 a “hoax.” Classy. So, I guess Shepherd was really tied to a ranchpost and tortured to death because he wanted to draw attention to the gay agenda, right? These people make me sick.