A protest occurred last Wednesday, January 29, at the Albany County courthouse, with many students and community members participating. Protestors touted signs equating Trump to a pig, and stating the aversion to the separation of families, a controversial policy instituted during the Obama administration and widely publicized under Trump. While the protest was generally in favor of “equal rights,” and anti-Trump, the protestors themselves had a variety of goals that differed between them. It was advertised throughout the University of Wyoming campus as well as throughout the town and is likely the result of various executive actions taken by the Trump administration in its first weeks in power.
When asked about why the protest was taking place, there were a multitude of answers from participants. Ireland Holland, the main coordinator of the protest, had the following to say about its purpose; “We’re protesting for immigrant rights, we’re protesting for reproductive rights, we’re protesting for climate action . . . we’re just trying to bring people together with similar values, and we’re protesting inequality too. This is for everyone who has something to protest.” When asked if she herself had any specific policies that she wasn’t in favor of, Holland stated, “I hate to speak for everyone, but I know that a lot of us are really upset about the bill that ends birthright citizenship. That’s a big one we’re all against. A lot of people are also upset about the bill that declares there are only two genders.”
Another two participants, Ava Olsen and Avery Hoagland, when asked a similar set of questions, had different responses. Olsen said, “I think Laramie has really gone downhill with its ability to represent everyone and be diverse . . . They eradicated DEI and I don’t think Laramie put up enough of a backlash against that.” Hoagland stated that, “I’m not actually a student here, I just moved here from Tennessee, but this is happening everywhere, you know? I hoped one day to marry my girlfriend and I’m not totally sure what that’s going to look like in the next few years.” While Trump has made no threats targeting gay marriage, mainly focusing on transgender issues, many people in the crowd shared a similar sentiment, and are concerned about the slippery slope that might be caused by some executive actions of the Trump administration.
Some of the protestors specifically were very against the executive order “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which will effectively eliminate birthright citizenship in the United States. While most other Western nations have a policy of requiring one parent to be a citizen of that respective country to gain citizenship, some at the protest were very disapproving of the order. One protestor who chose to remain anonymous stated, “Yeah, for some countries it might be different, but America was built on immigration, and this is just a way to de-incentivize people from coming here.”
The protest at the Albany County courthouse highlighted a range of concerns from students and community members, addressing ongoing national debates on immigration, reproductive rights, and diversity policies. While the protestors shared a general distaste for the current administration, their individual issues varied wildly. As policies continue to evolve over the next four years, demonstrations such as this one are likely to continue.
