Wyoming’s latest opportunity to prove that it’s state motto is even partially true has dissolved.
The “Equality State” has rejected even domestic partnerships for same-sex partners after bringing it to the House floor yesterday. From the Casper Star-Tribune:
Seal of Wyoming (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Wyoming House has shot down a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to create domestic partnerships carrying most of the legal rights of conventional marriage.
The House voted 35-to-24 against the bill. It marked the first time that pro-gay legislation reached a full floor debate in the state Legislature.
Proponents of the bill said that it would grant same-sex couples as well as other citizens a way to share their property and make health care decisions for each other.
Opponents warned that the bill threatened to open the state to legal action seeking to force it to approve same-sex marriage.
A separate bill cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday that would outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. That bill now heads to the full Senate.
Wyoming, the state where Matthew Shepard was tragically murdered- now has an opportunity to outlaw discrimination. I will be delighted to see it happen- but it doesn’t seem very likely at this point.
Sad. If I were a Wyoming legislator, I’d introduce a bill to change the motto to “The Inequality State”.
Related articles
- Wyoming Domestic Partnership Bill Passes Out Of Committee (dgsmith.org)
- Wyoming House defeats domestic partnership bill (trib.com)
- Wyoming Lawmakers Kill Domestic Partnerships But Advance Nondiscrimination Protections (thinkprogress.org)
- Equality State Kills Equality Bill (huffingtonpost.com)
Filed under: LGBT, Marriage Equality, Montana Tagged: Casper Star-Tribune, discrimination, Domestic partnership, equality state, house, Matthew Shepard, pain, same sex marriage, Same-sex relationship, Wyoming
