The Supreme Court ruled bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional in a 5-4 decision last week, allowing gays and lesbians of the Equality State to breathe a little easier.
Though Wyoming’s ban on same-sex marriage was ruled unconstitutional last fall, the high court’s unambiguous wording diminished fears of that earlier decision being reversed.
“The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-State,” according to the court’s opinion.
The opinion goes on to call concerns about attacks on the institution of marriage “counterintuitive” given same-sex couples’ aim to respectfully celebrate matrimony.
“Marriage is sacred to those who live by their religions and offers unique fulfillment to those who find meaning in the secular realm,” the opinion reads. “Its dynamic allows two people to find a life that could not be found alone, for a marriage becomes greater than just the two persons.”
For local members of the LGBT community granted a right to marry half a year ago, this nationwide welcome into the institution of marriage is a symbolic milestone on the path to greater acceptance for all people.
“I think it’s great that people were finally allowed to love equally,” Catie Noose, a 17-year-old student at Laramie’s Whiting High School who identifies as lesbian. “I think it’s dumb that it took this long because you can’t deny human instinct.”
Noose said the people around her are generally accepting and supportive and discrimination is not an issue she faces very often.
“Sure you have those close-minded people, but I have never not gotten something because I like girls,” Noose said. “If I haven’t achieved something, it’s because I’m lazy, not gay.”
That experience was not shared by now-32-year-old Laramie resident Kelli Kiesel when she was in high school 15 years ago.
Kiesel said she was bullied throughout her schooling years and, though she is now open and proud, did not feel safe coming out.
“I work with a lot of high school kids and I see a difference in all of them,” she said. “They’re not shy of being who they are. When I was that age, I was very shy to be who I was.”
The legacy of discrimination has left a noticeable impact on some members of the LGBT community even in the more accepting atmosphere of 2015.
“I’ve seen a major change,” Kiesel said. “A lot more people are coming out than they used to when I was younger, but some people still want to be in the closet because of the discrimination they dealt with when they were younger.”
Carly Demple, SafeZone coordinator, said the Supreme Court ruling was important in Wyoming, not because of legal ramifications, but because it normalizes the lives of members from an otherwise marginalized community.
“A lot of people thought we would never see this in our lifetime,” she said. “From a legal standpoint, maybe it doesn’t change anything. But the feeling of a community nationwide might have an emotional effect on the community.”
For UW’s Rachel Watson, the chair of the queer studies department, said the equal rights victory is a small step in a bigger movement.
“It’s progress and it’s important progress,” she said. “But that’s not a complete liberation of space.”
Watson said by normalizing same-sex marriage, society is simply extending the definition of normal to include another group. But any idea of ‘normal’ leaves individuals outside that definition.
“Raising awareness is key to making a liberation of space and recognizing different ways of being,” she said.
