Rep. Foxx Apologizes to Mother of Slain Gay Man

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina congresswoman has sent an apology about her comments to the mother of a slain gay man whose name is on legislation that adds sexual orientation to the list of hate crimes.

Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., sent the letter to the mother of Matthew Shepard.

The 21-year-old Wyoming student was robbed and beaten and left tied to a fence before he died. Two men are serving life sentences for his death.

Foxx said during a House floor debate that labeling Shepard's death a hate crime was "a hoax." She later said she used a poor choice of words.

The Matthew Shepard Foundation confirmed that his mother received Foxx's note, but offered no comment on it.

On Wednesday, a pro-homosexual group took out a half-page ad in the Winston-Salem Journal encouraging people to tell Foxx that "hate is no hoax." The ad was paid for by Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, also known as PFLAG, and calls Foxx's arguments against hate crimes laws "the real hoax."