Matthew Shepard's Mom Rallies Youth Vote

[LostInTime]

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Disappointed with her fellow baby boomers, Shepard aims the get-out-the-vote effort at a generation of young Americans who polls show are more accepting of diversity and gay issues than their elders -- and who also showed signs of life in the 2004 election, when nearly half of all eligible young voters cast ballots.

"Matt was passionate about politics and voting, so it seemed like a natural fit," Shepard, who is 54 and lives in Casper, Wyo., said in an interview.

It is an image of her eldest son that she'd much rather remember than the last time she saw him, barely alive in a hospital bed, his head wrapped in bandages and his face swollen and stitched. She didn't recognize him at first and, to this day, is not sure he was aware of his family's presence at his bedside before he died on Oct. 12, 1998.
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If you are an American citizen who still retains their right to vote, I implore you to vote in the upcoming election.  Your voice cannot be heard if you do not participate.