Lehigh Valley Gay Men's Chorus Alec Baldwin Lyrics

Date: Monday, October 19, 1998

Page: B01 Edition: FIFTH Section: LOCAL/REGION

THIS HAS TO STOP-- LEHIGH VALLEY GAY MEN'S CHORUS LEADS VIGIL FOR SLAIN WYOMING STUDENT IN ALLENTOWN

by DAN SHOPE, The Morning Call

The chorus sang, the clergy preached and nearly 300 candles lighted the square at the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown Sunday night. And when the flames flickered out, tears flowed. "We are gentle, angry people and we are singing for our lives," the 20-member Lehigh Valley Gay Men's Chorus sang. "We shall overcome some day."

People agreed. They agreed that they must overcome intimidation and crimes against gays and lesbians, which they said led to the murder of gay University of Wyoming freshman Matthew Shepard, 21. He died a week ago today. "We are saying collectively that this has to stop," said Steve Olofson, chairman of the singing group for the one-hour event.

Then they listened to politicians: state Sen. Roy C. Afflerbach, D-Lehigh and Northampton, and state Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Lehigh. Though their views are not usually so in tune, both vowed to give homosexuals the same protected status that blacks, Jews and other groups have under the state's Ethnic Intimidation Law. The legislation against "gay bashing" is bottled up in the House Judiciary Committee.

"I remember being in school, and hating the bullies," Afflerbach said. "I was always of slight build, and my mom wouldn't let me fight back. I learned self-discipline. "Bullies and hate crimes have no place in our society." Dent said he shared in the grief. "I'm glad to be able to spend time with you," Dent said. Also spending time was Ardath Rodale, chairwoman of Rodale Press Inc. of Emmaus, who wrote a popular book about her son, David, who was gay and died of AIDS. "We need to reach out and open up our hearts," Rodale said.

Shepard died after being beaten and lashed to a fence for 18 hours. Bicyclists who found him at first thought he was a scarecrow. One of the two alleged assailants said that Shepard had tried to flirt with him and had "embarrassed" him.

At nearby Cedar Crest College, students, staff, faculty and friends also held a candlelight vigil Sunday. The first in the area was at Muhlenberg College on Wednesday, one of 50 vigils scheduled across the country last week. The events served as a contrast to a controversial parade at the University of Colorado, where a float carried a straw scarecrow labeled "I'm gay."

The murder has spurred calls nationwide for hate-crimes legislation protecting gays, including from President Clinton. "We're in this together," Olofson said. "(Shepard) wasn't alone. It was a very bloody murder."

The Lehigh Valley has the third-largest number of gays and lesbians in the state, behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, organizers of Sunday's concert in center city Allentown said.

The turnout of nearly 300 people near Center Square was one of the largest vigils in Pennsylvania, they said. Olofson said that, ironically, the murder of a gay man out West may finally help move homosexual legislation in Pennsylvania.

"The Hate Crimes bill is so important," said Elizabeth Bradbury, co-chairman of the Lehigh Valley Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Political Action. "But it's been stuck in committee for four years now."

PHOTO by CESAR L. LAURE, The Morning Call

CAPTION: Lisa Cashan, center, a student at Cedar Crest College, listens to the Lehigh Valley Gay Men's Chorus during a vigil Sunday night outside the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown. The vigil was one of many across the nation to draw attention to gay rights legislation after the beating and subsequent death of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming.