Remembering Matthew - Five years after it put "The War Over Gays" on its front cover, Time Magaine has a nice retrospective on Matthew Shepard's murder and the changes in gay life in Wyoming since 1998. Arguably the biggest story out of Wyoming in a generation, Shepard's killing, the reaction of the Laramie community and the trials of his attackers Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney attracted major media attention and continuing coverage from the likes of CNN, the NYTimes and Salon.com. Of course there was Fred Phelps, countless pundits, the vigil on Capitol Hill and the writing and performance of The Laramie Project. For a look at how the anniversary is playing in Wyoming itself, see the Star-Tribune and the Tribune-Eagle.

The Time article makes the connection between Shepard's death and the founding of the Republican Unity Coalition, a factoid I had never seen before, but I suppose it makes some sense. Wyoming is so thoroughly GOP that even the pro-gay voices are likely to be conservatives. I'm not sure what Casper councilman Guy Padgett's political affiliation is, but that's a cute photo of him and his boyfriend in the magazine. It will be interesting to see what fallout there is from his coming out in a national newsmagazine.