If asked about moving to Wyoming, many people might respond with “Why? What’s in Wyoming?” Oddly enough, early LGBT rights! While the state may not have been at the forefront of news regarding same-sex marriage, it’s the only state in the country that never published any type of sodomy cases and, by 1977, had removed consensual sodomy from its list of crimes. Of course, Wyoming isn’t perfect, and gay and lesbian real estate officials can tell you how the state is lacking in some areas. However, if you’re considering a move to Wyoming, know that it isn’t the worst place you could live.
Same-Sex Marriage
The state attempted to create domestic partnerships in 2013, but while a House committee and the governor at the time both supported the idea, the bill failed a full vote in January of that year. However, on October 21, 2014, a federal court overturned Wyoming’s same-sex marriage ban of 2003, and state officials decided not to fight the ruling. The law had been challenged in the case of Guzzo v. Mead, and while Governor Matt Mead had stated that he would defend the state’s ban earlier in October, he later recanted following the ruling of Judge Scott Skavdahl.
Protection Under the Law
This is where Wyoming fails in a number of ways. The state has absolutely no legal protection against discrimination for either gender identity or sexual orientation. A bill was put forth in 2011, but the state House voted it down. In 2013, a similar bill went before the state Senate, but again, it was rejected.
The good news is that Wyoming does have hate crime laws on the book. The state was actually one of the earliest states to adopt these laws following the death of Matthew Shepard made headlines in 1999. He was killed near the city of Laramie, Wyoming.
Popular Cities for LGBT People
While Wyoming may have a reputation of being a fairly conservative state, especially with its lack of anti-discrimination laws, but it’s not all bad. There are some cities that are very welcoming to the LGBT community. Jackson is one of the largest cities and is quite diverse. Laramie, despite being associated with LGBT hate, is actually quite diverse as well, thanks to the University of Wyoming. It’s also listed as one of the best towns to retire by Money Magazine.
One downside is that people have noted that there seems to be fewer LGBT organizations and support groups in the state, or at least the ones that are there are not as large. Wyoming Equality is one of the largest and most visible, plus there are a number of support groups connected with the various universities and colleges in the state.