A lot has changed for gay Americans in the 20 years since Matthew Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, tortured, tied to a fence and left for dead by two men he had met at a bar.
In October 1998, when Shepard was killed, only Minnesota and the District of Columbia had laws that covered hate crimes against LGBTQ people. Today, 18 states have hate-crime laws that address sexual orientation or gender identity, and another 12 states address hate crimes based on sexual orientation.
Same-sex marriage is legal nationwide. Polls show Americans are increasingly accepting in their views of LGBTQ people.
And yet in some ways, nothing has changed.
