She is also a lesbian.

I remember very clearly when I was a freshman in high school in '91 when she came out. I saw this "What to do if your child is gay" book sitting on the dining room table and thought "What is that?" Catherine had gotten it to prepare our parents for the possible shock of her coming out.

They weren't too shocked. She was terrified to tell them, but being good, loving and upstanding liberal folks, they told her that they loved her and that they would always love her. "Who cares if you're gay? We're glad you told us." Thanks Mom and Dad.

She became one of the most active, vocal and powerful lesbians this campus has or ever will see. She actively wrote letters to the editor, worked at The AIDS Project and was an officer for the former LGBSA. She proudly spoke out for the rights of millions of LGBT people.

As with all things, there has been the darker side of this rainbow existence. She has been harassed on numerous occasions by sick jerks who have wanted to get their rocks off by harassing a lesbian. She received hate messages regularly. One of her professors harassed her. She has been physically threatened. Why did these things happen? Because she is gay.

With the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, I can't help but think that it could have been Catherine. I think about Matthew's friends and relatives and wonder what it must be like for them. Their baby was taken away from them. Their hearts have an enormous hole in them because a couple of hateful morons thought it would be a good idea to beat and rob a gay kid.

How could they have possibly even thought about that? How could that have brought them pleasure? I can't even begin to fathom it.

When I first heard about it, I wanted to hurt them. Really hurt them. As wrong and hateful as that feeling is, it was the first thing that came into my head. I was moved to the desire of real violence, and I wish that I weren't. I wish that every time that I think about young Matthew I didn't want to hurt those men, because I feel like I am identifying with them somehow, and I don't want that. I pray that those men become beautiful people, and that they may be the last to commit such a crime. But I know that several more have already been committed in our vast nation.

Every time I think about Matthew, I transpose my sister's body onto that split-rail fence. Her body is bruised, broken and chapped by the cold. Her face is unrecognizable. Her last memories are filled with those sick jerks screaming "dyke" and pistol-whipping her.

As if that weren't bad enough, there are people picketing at her funeral because they believe that God not only condemns gays, but that he hates them.

For all of you who believe that people deserve to die for their sins, then you need to check yourself into a sanitarium or learn the two basic commandments -- "Love God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength" and "Love your neighbor as yourself." The last time I checked, murder was not much of a loving and neighborly action.

I met a guy the other day who always tries to play the devil's advocate. He always tries to figure out a way to justify an action taken by someone, and he tried to figure out a way that this tragedy might be justifiable. The way you might draw a blank when pondering the possible justification of rape or child molestation, he drew a huge blank. There is no justice in hate. There is no reason in hate. There is only irrationality and hate itself.

The moral of this long and cumbersome story is to keep your loved ones close to you. I hope that you all look and see that everyone is someone's daughter, son, brother, sister and/or friend and that we are all neighbors. Love each other.

I love you Catherine.