Act 3

Act three of The Laramie Project describes the effect the case had on the people of Laramie. It impacted so many people. "And when I got there, there were thousands of people in just black, with umbrellas everywhere.And there were two churches-one for immediate family, uh, invited guest, people of that nature, and then one church for everyone else who wanted to be there. And then, still, hundreds of people outside that couldn't fit int either of the churches. And there was a big park by the church, and that's where these people were. And this park was full" ( Moises Kaufman 75). The vest number of people that came to Matt's funeral showed how many people were moved by his story and wanted to be there to support him and his family as they said goodbye. This case didn't effect everyone in a positive way." But this murder is different, because the fags are bringing us out here trying to make Matthew Shepard into a poster boy for the gay lifestyle. And we're going to answer it" (Kaufman 78). this case made people push back against the general public desire for change and acceptance. There was also a push back against the protesters."After seeing Fred Phelps protesting at Matthews funeral and found out that he was coming to Laramie for the trial of Russell Henderson, I decided that someone needed to stand toe-to-toe with this guy and show the difference" (Kaufman 79). As people protested it encouraged others to take a stand and fight for a change. No matter what way people were effected, everyone was impacted by this murder.

This crime not only made people think about gay rights but also about the death penalty. This created controversy for the people of Laramie. "How can I protest, if the Shepard's want McKinney dead? I just cant interfere in that. But on a personal level, I knew Aaron in grade school. We never called him Aaron, he was called A.J" (Kaufman 88). People didn't just have to think about f the crime was worth death but also if they would give the death penalty to an old childhood friend. Everyone of Laramie who grow up with Aaron was personally involved the case. "Parts of me wants McKinney to get it. But I'm not very proud of that. I was on and off, off and on. I cant say what I would do... I'm too personally involved"(Kaufman 88). Everyon0e had this connection to Aaron and Russell so no matter their view on the death penalty it was hard to decide what is right and wrong. Even if people didn't want the death penalty for Aaron, no one wanted him free. "I don't know about the death penalty. But I don't ever want to see them walk out of Rawlins Penitentiary. I'll pay my nickel, or whatever, my little percentage of tax, nickel a day to make sure that his ass stays in there and never sees society again and definitely never comes into my bar again"(Kaufman 88). Weather or not people wanted to see Aaron dead or not, no one wanted to see him free. This case caused so much controversy within the people of Laramie.