gay marriage

Public opinion in Wyoming has radically shifted toward legalizing same sex marriage in the last decade.  Bills, both legalizing and banning, have been introduced in the state legislature. But nothing has passed.  And lawmakers are slow to acknowledge the shift in public opinion. But as Wyoming Public Radio’s Erin Jones reports, the legislature might not be where the change happens.

ERIN JONES: State Representative Matt Greene grew up without gay marriage on his mind.

More than 50 Wyoming lawyers are expressing support for a group's effort to change state law to allow same-sex couples to marry.
 
A group called Wyoming Equality is challenging the state prohibition against same-sex marriage in state court. Group Chairman Jeran Artery says he hopes the lawyers' support sparks a statewide debate.
 
Wyoming Equality and four same-sex Wyoming couples filed a lawsuit earlier this year challenging the state law that defines marriage as existing only between a man and a woman.
 

Former U.S. Senator Al Simpson is appearing is a commercial in support of marriage equality, which is airing across Wyoming, Colorado and Utah.

Wyoming currently does not allow same sex marriage. Simpson not only supports gay marriage but also says same-sex couples should be treated the same as heterosexual couples, when it comes to having or adopting children.

“I have seen the most dysfunctional children come out of a union of a man and wife that I have yet to observe out of a same sex couple," Simpson says.

This week a new statewide public education campaign was launched called Wyoming unites for marriage.  The idea is to get support for same sex couples.  Earlier this year a lawsuit was filed to try and make same sex marriage legal in Wyoming.  Jeran Artery of the group Wyoming Equality tells Bob Beck that the lawsuit seems like the quickest way to get equality.

Supporters from all walks of life attended the kickoff of a new statewide education campaign that is intended to draw support for same sex marriage.  Four same sex couples and the “gay rights” advocacy group Wyoming equality filed lawsuit challenging Wyoming’s law that says marriage can only be between a man and a woman. 

Wyoming Equality Chairman Jeran Artery says the issue is important to many people.                

The U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning the Defense of Marriage Act will not change state laws regarding whether gay couples can marry. But gay rights activists say they hope the ruling will be an important step toward marriage equality in Wyoming.

Jeran Artery with the group Wyoming Equality says after today’s decision, his group is considering several options to try to get gay marriage legalized here.

Wyoming gay marriage supporters are holding a rally in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s hearings on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, and Proposition eight that repealed a gay marriage law in California. 

This Sunday at noon, people from across the state are invited to don red clothing and gather in Casper’s Pioneer Park to rally for marriage equality and the repeal of both the DOMA, and Proposition 8.

After a passionate debate, the Wyoming House of Representatives defeated a bill that would have allowed adults to enter into a domestic partnership.  Supporters of the measure say that the legal agreement would have given all non-married couples a legal contract that would provide them with a range of legal tools to use in health care situations and in cases of a partner's death.  But others strongly opposed the measure.  Thermopolis Republican Nathan Winters says it’s clear what the bill is trying to do.

The Wyoming Legislature will take on just about every possible hot-button social issue this week, hearing bills on guns, abortion and same-sex marriage.

House Speaker Tom Lubnau, a Republican from Gillette, says he's scheduled all the contentious social issue bills for hearings this week to save money on security.

Lubnau says the Legislature always increases its security when lawmakers consider gun and abortion issues because of the large crowds that typically turn out.