Matthew Shepard's brutal beating and death occurred on a cold October night 11 years ago. In remembrance of his death, the Gay Liberation Network and Equality Illinois hosted the annual Chicago vigil for him Oct. 17.
Between 200 and 250 people attended, according to Chicago police. The vigil began at 7 p.m. with a rally at the corner of Halsted and Roscoe, in the parking lot of a 7-11 convenience store, before people took to the streets to march.
This year the focus of the vigil was on the violence of Chicago Police Department officer Richard Fiorito. Fiorito is the subject of more than 20 lawsuits by LGBT persons. Leaders called for Alderman Tom Tunney to fire and prosecute Fiorito. ( Fiorito was recently placed on desk duty while the charges against him are gone through. )
Another topic of discussion was the war in Afghanistan. Juan Torres, who lost his son in Afghanistan, was scheduled to speak, but was unable to attend due to vehicle trouble. Gay Liberation Network co-founder Andy Thayer spoke in his place.
"You may be asking why are we talking about a war several thousand miles away at a gay-rights rally," Thayer said. "Well, if we're concerned with violence against our communities, and we're not concerned about violence against entire whole nations, then we're not worthy of any solidarity for anti-gay hate crimes."
After the rally, participants marched. They walked down Halsted, through the streets of Lakeview, past the office of Alderman Tom Tunney and the 23rd District Chicago Police Station before ending back at the 7-11 parking lot.
Leaders of the march began with chants of "Hey hey, ho ho, Fiorito has got to go," calling for his resignation. Marchers shouted similar chants throughout the vigil, ranging from demanding marriage equality to opposing police brutality.
Some believe the Chicago vigil does not sufficiently focus on remembering Shepard.
"Matthew's death was tragic. The focus of a vigil should be to solemnly remember his death and other victims of hate crimes. I don't think screaming up and down the streets in protest-form is paying Matt the respect he deserves," said Paige Toe, 19, a student at Columbia College.
Originally the vigil was to be Oct. 1, in protest of a concert by anti-gay performer Buju Banton. However, the show was cancelled and the date of the vigil was changed back to Oct. 17.