General Assembly proposals aim to protect LGBTQ Virginians from hate crimes
Anya Sczerzenie,
Staff Writer
Del. Danica Roem, the first openly transgender person in the Virginia General Assembly, was a freshman at Paul IV Catholic High School in Fairfax when she heard of the death of Matthew Shepard on the news.
Shepard, an openly gay University of Wyoming student, was severely beaten in 1998 and later died of his injuries. His death ignited nationwide conversation about hate crimes and was one of the most famous anti-LGBTQ attacks in U.S. history. Roem, who knew at the time that she was transgender, was deeply affected.