By LLOYD DUNKELBERGER H-T CAPITAL BUREAU
HERALD TRIBUNE
TALLAHASSEE — On the day that would have been Ryan Skipper's 26th birthday, his family and gay rights activists gathered in the Capitol on Monday to urge lawmakers to strengthen an anti-bullying bill that is moving through the Legislature.
Skipper, who was openly gay, was killed last year in Polk County and two men have been charged with the murder, which has been declared a hate crime.
Skipper's parents, Lynn and Pat Mulder of Auburndale, were in Tallahassee on Monday to ask lawmakers to add a provision to the anti-bullying bill (HB 669) that would specifically ban the harassment of gay or transgendered students in schools.
Pat Mulder, Skipper's mother, said she wants to use the circumstances of her son's death to help others.
"Last year I was in way too much pain to do anything like this," she said "The pain is still there but the motivation to make a difference is so much stronger."
Lynn Mulder, Skipper's stepfather, said his son was "a good and valuable member of society" who faced harassment in school and later at work and who was "ultimately murdered."
"That shouldn't happen to anyone," he said.
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