The Equality State is in danger of turning into the Inequality State after Wyoming’s House Committee defeated a bill to legalize same-sex marriage earlier this January.
The “Marriage Equality in the Equality State” panel discussed Wyoming legislation’s progress toward marriage equality Friday morning at the Shepard Symposium.
Wyoming representatives Cathy Connolly (D) and Dan Zwonitzer (R), both members of the panel, said the House did not address any anti-gay bills this session. While this is underwhelming compared to other states, it does show progress toward marriage equality in Wyoming is being made.
Wyoming law states that marriage is between one man and one woman, but a loophole allows Wyoming to recognize marriages of same-sex couples performed in other states.
This legislative session saw two marriage equality bills. One would allow same-sex marriage “by defining marriage as a civil contract between two natural persons” Keith Reynolds, panel coordinator, said during the discussion. The other would allow people in domestic partnerships “to attain the rights, responsibilities, protections and legal benefits provided in Wyoming for immediate family members.” While the marriage bill was defeated in a 5-4 decision, the domestic partnership bill passed 7-2, which surprised everyone on the panel.
“People are not staying in the closet like they used to,” Jaren Artery, chairman of Wyoming Equality, said. “It’s hard to discriminate against people you love; friends, family members, colleagues. So I think that as more and more people come out and tell their stories you have people saying ‘I can’t take this hard line position anymore. I love my friend; I love my son; I love my daughter; and I want them to have the exact same rights and privileges as me and that is to marry the person that they love.’”
States that allow same-sex marriage see social benefits and experience an economic boost. Rachel Dreyer quoted a statistic saying that allowing same-sex marriage will bring an $88 million revenue increase to the state of Washington over the next three years as people travel into the state to get married. Wyoming depends on travel and tourism, so imagine the revenue the state could bring in as a wedding destination if same-sex marriage were legal.
Wyoming is making progress toward equal rights for the LGBT community. There is still a long way to go; however, we will get there sooner rather than later.
