LGBT rights in Wyoming
| LGBT rights in Wyoming | |
|---|---|
 Wyoming (USA) |
|
| Same-sex sexual activity legal? | Legal since 1977 |
| Gender identity/expression | - |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships |
No |
|
Restrictions:
|
Wyo. Stat. Ann. §20-1-101, 2003 limits marriage to man/woman |
| Adoption | - |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Wyoming may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Wyoming, but same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for all of the same protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Contents |
[edit] Law regarding same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Wyoming since February 1977.[1] The age of consent is equal at 18.[2]
[edit] Recognition of same-sex relationships
Wyoming does not allow same-sex couples to marry in the state.[3] Wyoming law (Wyo. Stat. Ann. §20-1-101, 2003) states, "Marriage is a civil contract between a male and a female person to which the consent of the parties capable of contracting is essential."[4] Wyoming law also states that "All marriage contracts which are valid by the laws of the country in which contracted are valid in this state," and does not specifically exempt same-sex marriages from that recognition.(Wyo. Stat. Ann. §20-1-111)[5] Some out-of-state journalists writing for the Associated Press have interpreted this discrepancy as allowing state recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages.[6][7][8]
However, the federal Defense of Marriage Act relieves the states of the obligation to recognize same-sex marriages obtained in other jurisdictions. National gay-rights organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry, National Center for Lesbian Rights, and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, all state that Wyoming does not provide "any form of statewide relationship recognition for same-sex couples."[9][10][11][12]
[edit] Legislative history
On February 22, 2007, a bill to prohibit Wyoming from recognizing same-sex marriages from other states was defeated by one vote in a committee of the Wyoming House of Representatives.[13]
In 2009, the House considered an amendment to the state constitution, House Joint Resolution 17 (aka the "Defense of Marriage" resolution), defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. After an intense, emotional debate on the matter, the measure was defeated in a vote by the full House on February 6, with 35 votes against and 25 in favor.[14]
On January 24, 2011, the House passed a bill that would prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside the state.[15] On February 18, it was passed by the Senate. Now, the bill goes back to the House, because of minor amendment.[16] Ultimately, the bill died.[17]
On January 27, 2011, the Senate approved, by 2/3 majority, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.[18] However, it died in the House.[19]
On January 28, 2011, the House Judiciary Committee voted down the bill legalizing civil unions.[20]
[edit] Judicial history
In November 2010, a district judge ruled that he lacked jurisdiction to grant a divorce to a lesbian couple who married in Canada in 2006.[21] On June 6, 2011, the Wyoming Supreme Court reversed the lower court and, for the purpose of divorce only, equated same-sex marriages legally solemnized in another jurisdiction to common-law marriages. Its decision in the case of Christiansen v. Christiansen said: "Nothing in this opinion should be taken as applying to the recognition of same-sex marriages legally solemnized in a foreign jurisdiction in any context other than divorce. The question of recognition of such same-sex marriages for any other reason, being not properly before us, is left for another day."[22]
In 2010, A gay couple from Cheyenne filed a federal lawsuit challenging the Wyoming law that defines marriage as existing only between a man and a woman. David Shupe-Roderick, 25, and Ryan Dupree, 21, filed the lawsuit Aug. 13 after the Laramie County Clerk's Office refused to issue them a marriage license.[23][24][25][26][27][28] However, on September 10, the couple dropped their suit, saying only that "circumstances had changed." The Advocate reported that "the two men were representing themselves in the case, although neither is a lawyer."[29]
[edit] Administrative history
In September 2011, the University of Wyoming first offered limited domestic partnership benefits to its employees.[30][31][32] The $600 per month voucher will come from the University's external funds; officials emphasized that no tax dollars would be used for the insurance benefit.[31] According to the official University of Wyoming website, "The benefit provides an allowance to assist in paying for health insurance for partners and dependents. The allowance is equivalent in dollar amount to the state’s contributions to the Wyoming employees’ group insurance plan for spouses and dependents."[30] University officials had worked on the benefit "for years", since the mid-2000s, approving it in 2009, but only funding the program for the 2011-2012 academic year when money became available.[32] A University spokesperson said they offered the benefit because "the school needed to recognize domestic partners in order to attract top-flight faculty and administrators...." [32] To secure the benefit, employees must fill out an affidavit, in addition to the other paperwork, during the open enrollment period.[30]
It was thought that other agencies would take more years to follow up and enroll their own employees,[32] but this timeline has gone by the sideline as other employees want those benefits, too. An employee at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming applied in January 2012 for similar benefits.[33] The community college's officials were looking into offering such benefits from its own pool of funds.[33]
[edit] Divorce
On June 6, 2011, the Supreme Court of Wyoming unanimously reversed a district court decision, allowing two Wyoming women who were married in Canada in 2008 to get a divorce. However, the court tailored its ruling only to the question of divorce, saying "Nothing in this opinion should be taken as applying to the recognition of same-sex marriages legally solemnized in a foreign jurisdiction in any context other than divorce. The question of recognition of such same-sex marriages for any other reason, being not properly before us, is left for another day.”[34][35]
[edit] Discrimination protections
There are no laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. On January 31, 2011, the state House rejected a bill banning such discrimination.[36]
[edit] Hate crimes legislation
Wyoming does not have hate crimes legislation to add extra penalties for violence based on anti-LGBT motives. It should be noted, however, that Wyoming is one of the few states in the U.S. that does not have any laws on the books to add extra penalties for hate crimes of any kind.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ William N. Eskridge, Dishonorable Passions: Sodomy Laws in America, 1861-2003 (NY: Penguin Group, 2008), 201n, available online, accessed April 10, 2011
- ^ TITLE 6 - CRIMES AND OFFENSES
- ^ Wyoming
- ^ Wyoming Marriage/Relationship Recognition Law
- ^ http://legisweb.state.wy.us/statutes/statutes.aspx?file=titles/Title20/Title20.htm Wyoming Statutes online
- ^ http://www.kulr8.com/news/wyoming/101430989.html
- ^ http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=13896
- ^ http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_fc80c71a-716d-5fc0-8996-dcf2d93a82a5.html]
- ^ http://www.hrc.org/documents/Relationship_Recognition_Laws_Map.pdf
- ^ http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/
- ^ http://www.nclrights.org/site/DocServer/Relationship_Recognition_State_Laws_Summary.pdf?docID=6841
- ^ http://www.thetaskforce.org/downloads/reports/issue_maps/rel_recog_3_10.pdf
- ^ Panel kills gay marriage bill
- ^ Gay marriage ban falls in House
- ^ House passes anti-gay marriage bill
- ^ Wyoming Senate passes anti-gay marriage bill
- ^ Anti-gay marriage bill defeated in Senate
- ^ (Wyo.)-House Now Gets Chance At Gay Marriage Bill
- ^ Same-sex marriage constitutional amendment dies in Wyoming House after missing deadline
- ^ Wyoming House committee votes down civil unions bill
- ^ Same-sex divorce stirs debate
- ^ Wyoming Supreme Court reverses same-sex divorce ruling
- ^ Cheyenne gay couple challenge state law
- ^ http://www.kulr8.com/news/wyoming/101430989.html
- ^ http://www.gaylesbiantimes.com/?id=13896
- ^ http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_fc80c71a-716d-5fc0-8996-dcf2d93a82a5.html]
- ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/08/24/state/n162414D00.DTL&type=politics
- ^ http://www.wyomingnews.com/articles/2009/02/07/news/19local_02-07-09.txt
- ^ Gay Wyo. Couple Drops Marriage Suit, The Advocate, September 15, 2010.
- ^ a b c University of Wyoming (August 15, 2011). "Office of Academic Affairs Domestic Partner Benefits". University of Wyoming. http://www.uwyo.edu/acadaffairs/faculty/benefits.html. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ^ a b Pelzer, Jeremy (August 20, 2011). "University of Wyoming covers insurance costs for domestic partners". Star-Tribune. http://www.uwyo.edu/acadaffairs/faculty/benefits.html. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ^ a b c d Pelzer, Jeremy (August 30, 2011). "University of Wyoming worked for years on domestic partner definition". Star-Tribune. http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_7d0eaa3c-97b5-56da-87c5-4210d7695248.html. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ^ a b Zhorov, Irina (February 2, 2012). "Community college professor wants domestic partner benefits". Wyoming Public media. http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/community-college-professor-wants-domestic-partner-benefits. Retrieved February 11, 2012.
- ^ "Wyoming Supreme Court reverses same-sex divorce ruling," Cheyenne Star-Tribune, 7 June 2011, accessed 3 July 2011
- ^ "Wyoming High Court Grants Divorce to Same-Sex Couple," Law Blog, The Wall Street Journal, 7 June 2011, accessed 3 July 2011
- ^ H.B. No. 0142
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