Two men beat Matthew Shepard bloody, robbed him and left him to die — tied to a fence begging for his life.

Shepard's story captured the nation's attention when he was murdered 11 years ago because he was gay. It also set Judy Shepard on a new course: championing gay civil rights.

“Before Matt's death, (my husband) Dennis and I felt that equality was the right thing,” Judy Shepard said. “We had no idea the depth of the discrimination. We had no idea of the homophobia here.”

Her 273-page memoir, “The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed,” came out in September.

She'll be at Just Fabulous bookstore in Palm Springs for a reception and book signing at 2 p.m. Sunday at part of Palm Springs Pride weekend.

Now in its 23rd year, the event, which begins Saturday, is expected to attract roughly 20,000 people to the festival and 30,000 for Sunday's parade.

In the wake of the state Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of Proposition 8 — the 2008 voter-approved state ban on same-sex marriage — this year's theme is “Your rights. Our rights. Human rights.”

“Our focus would be, on the political side, repealing Prop. 8,” said Greater Palm Springs Pride president Jack Schloeder.

Proposition 8 was the voter initiative on Nov. 4, 2008, that banned same-sex marriage through a constitutional amendment.

The Human Rights Campaign will honor Shepard with the Ally for Equality Award on Saturday for her work passing hate crime legislation.

On Sunday, she'll ride in the Gay Pride parade in Palm Springs along with actress Kelly McGillis, who also is receiving an HRC award, and longtime Palm Springs gay activist Cleve Jones.

Shepard “certainly has been part of our family and we've become a part of hers,” said Andy Linsky, a Human Rights Campaign Foundation board of directors' member.

“The hate crime legislation has been in the works for 12 years. We were met with objections and lies by our opponents saying why we don't need this.

“She's like a one-person army and really made a big difference.”

From the heart

Judy Shepard has shared her story many times before, but not like this. Not in heart- wrenching detail. And certainly not in a book.

“It was a matter of the stars falling together,” Judy Shepard said of her recently released memoir. “And honestly, I never thought I'd write a book. I didn't think I could pull my thoughts together.

“But sometimes the universe speaks to you and you have to pay attention.”

“It's often said that we see a white light before we die,” she writes in the opening pages.

“I wonder if that is what Matt saw that last night of his consciousness or if the last thing he saw was Aaron McKinney's hateful face.”

Matthew Shepard's name today is synonymous with equal protections and the hate crime legislation that bears his name, which President Barack Obama signed into law last month.

But in 1998, long before Judy Shepard became a gay-rights advocate and co-founder and executive director of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, she was a mother trying to cope with her son's violent murder and the national spotlight she was thrust into.

“She's taken a tragedy and turned it into something just remarkable for all of us,” said Stephen Monkarsh, owner of Just Fabulous.

“Hopefully the work that she is doing in the name of her son is going to prevent others from being killed for who they are.”

Despite the passage of hate crime legislation, gay advocates say more must be done such as extending federal marriage rights to same-sex couple, overturning the ban on gays serving in the military and ending employment discrimination.

“It's a landmark piece of legislation and not just to the gay community but for all protected communities, but it's just a building block,” Judy Shepard said of the historic hate crime legislation.

“This is not the end. There is so much to do. It's up to us to do it. Obama cannot act alone.”

“This story is dedicated to all the ‘Matts' out there who feel that Matt's story is a reflection of their own struggle,” Judy Shepard wrote in her memoir.

“Hope is out there and change is coming.”

Editor's Note: Comments on this article have been disabled due to multiple personal attacks and anti-gay hate speech.