By BOB MOEN, Associated Press
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- About 100 people have attended a ceremony at the University of Wyoming dedicating a memorial bench in honor of a gay student who was murdered nearly 10 years ago.
Matthew Shepard died Oct. 12, 1998, five days after he was found brutally beaten and tied to a fence outside Laramie. The two men who killed him are serving life sentences in prison.
The crime triggered nationwide sympathy and revulsion and brought a re-examination of attitudes toward gays.
Shepard's parents established a foundation to fight hate and promote diversity and both spoke at the short ceremony on Saturday.
Judy Shepard says the nation has grown a lot in the last 10 years in accepting the gay community.
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Below, click start to watch a video from the Matthew Shepard Foundation.
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