Dan Zwonitzer

Dan Zwonitzer (born October, 30th 1979) represents District 43 in the Wyoming State Legislature. District 43 comprises south-central Laramie County, and includes southeastern Cheyenne. He was first elected in 2004, defeating incumbent representative Edward Prosser in the Republican primary contest 52%-48%. He has been the only candidate since 2004 to knock off an incumbent Representative in Wyoming in a primary challenge. Upon election, Representative Zwonitzer became the youngest serving Wyoming legislator since 1976. In 2006, he was challenged for his seat in a rematch by former Representative Prosser. Zwonitzer retained his seat 59-41%.

Zwonitzer is a 5th generation resident of Cheyenne, holds two degrees from Georgetown University and works as an auctioneer. He previously worked for the Wyoming Dept. of Agriculture and in the Wyoming Governor's Office.

Dan Zwonitzer's father, Dave Zwonitzer, is currently serving his first term in the Wyoming Legislature representing District 9, comprising northeastern Cheyenne. It is the first time in Wyoming history a father and son have served in the Legislature concurrently.

Dan Zwonitzer and GLBT Equality

Dan Zwonitzer is both Republican and straight, but the 27-year-old state representative suddenly found himself praised by gay rights activists nationwide when, on February 22, 2007, he spoke out against a proposed bill that would have prohibited Wyoming from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

Zwonitzer told the House Rules Committee that he needed to publicly oppose the measure -- even if it cost him his seat -- because he believed that was the right thing to do. He told the committee that gay rights were the civil rights struggle of his generation. "I will tell my children that when this debate went on, I stood up for basic rights for people," he said.

Committee member Rep. Tom Lubnau, R-Gillette, sided with Zwonitzer, acknowledging the young legislator's speech before voting against the measure. "Maybe the right thing to do is stand up for tolerance," Lubnau said. The committee voted 7-6 to kill the bill, with House Speaker Roy Cohee, R-Casper, casting the tie-breaking vote.

Zwonitzer later discussed his speech on a radio show hosted by Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington, D.C.-based gay advocacy organization.

Zwonitzer's speech was also picked up quickly by several bloggers, including self-described "queer Green person with HIV in gay Mecca," Michael Petrelis, who posted the entire text of Zwonitzer's speech to the House Rules Committee on his blog.

On May 6, 2007, Rep. Zwonitzer was awarded the "Uncommon Courage Award" by the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization lobbying for toleration of gays within the Republican party, at their annual National Convention in Denver, Colorado. The award, which applauds Republican elected officials for displaying "leadership in fighting for basic fairness for gay and lesbian families," was also presented to Michigan State Representative Lorence Wenke and New York State Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward.