I've lived in Wyoming and a big chunk of my family still does. 'You mind your business, we'll mind ours' should be the state motto. You're right about a lot of the hateful things out-of-staters wrote.
I can easily believe that Shepherd got into a fight with a couple of drunk opportunistic criminals. Was he killed because he was a homosexual? I doubt it. Young guys routinely call each other derogatory names in a fight. Did they enjoy pounding him more if they knew he was gay? Maybe. If he'd been straight would they have stopped? No.
I don't see how you are any less dead if you are killed for criminal reasons instead of a hate crime.
My sentiments exactly!!