From the sprawling mountain ranges to the grass plains to all the wide-open spaces in between, the frontier spirit of Wyoming can’t be beat. The rugged individuals who have carved out a life for themselves in Wyoming truly represent the American spirit, and life in the Equality State embodies the so-called “Cowboy Ethos” of respect, compassion and integrity.
At least that’s what the tourism ads will tell you.
That’s not the Wyoming I grew up in.
The Wyoming I grew up in has never wanted me here.
I was born in Cheyenne, but from a very young age, I was told to go back to my own country. Today, people will point at me and tell me to “go back to California.” Hurtful? Yes. Racist and bigoted? No doubt. But I’ve always been able to brush those comments off. Those fools, though loud and annoying, didn’t have any real power over me.
These days, I’m not so sure.
Over the past few years, we have seen a well-funded and well-organized movement working to build power and elect extremists in places of power – everywhere from school boards to the legislature. The loud, annoying voices that don’t like to see me or people like me in Wyoming have organized and are gaining power. These people claim to care about freedom, but they’re doing everything they can to impose their extreme beliefs on all of us, stripping rights away from the most marginalized Wyomingites. And that’s exactly what they tried to do – and had some success doing – during the 2023 legislative session. Let’s talk about it:
- House Bill 152 and Senate File 109: Medical care should be guided by a patient’s health and well-being – not politicians. But as House Bill 152 and Senate File 109 were being debated, legislators put their own political agendas ahead of the testimony, advice and recommendations of our state’s medical professionals.
I find it very hard to believe that when you are making what could be the toughest decision of your life, you would ask yourself, “I wonder what Tim Salazar, Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, and Mark Gordon think I should do?” These are medical decisions that are deeply personal and should be between you, your doctor, and that’s it. We in Wyoming call ourselves champions of women’s rights and we hold ourselves up on a pedestal for being the first state to give women the right to vote. But now we’re going to be remembered for being the first state to ban medication abortion. - Senate File 133: Supporters claimed Senate File 133, legislation that bans transgender girls from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity, was about was about promoting fairness in sports. But what this bill does is attack transgender youth who are trying their best to just be kids – kids who just want to fit in with and play alongside their classmates, kids who just want to be part of a team, to learn discipline, and most importantly, to just have fun with their friends. This is not about leveling the playing field and it's not about fairness in any way. It’s about erasing and excluding trans people from participation in any aspect of public life. They are trying to erase trans people from Wyoming.
- Senate File 130 and House Bill 205: Two classroom censorship bills, Senate File 130 and House Bill 205, were debated during session. One bill would have taken away the ability to discuss racial justice issues in our classrooms and the other would have censored academic discussions about American history and race. Simply put, these were blatant attempts to suppress speech about race that makes some people uncomfortable.
I understand how parts of history can sometimes be uncomfortable to discuss, but I encourage you to push through the discomfort so you can come to a place of real learning. Nobody is blaming anyone for the mistakes and injustices of the past, but if you’re actively working to cover up those injustices and erase the oppression and suffering of BIPOC people, you are the modern oppressor. While neither bill passed, it’s unfortunate that some of our legislators are trying to suppress our First Amendment rights – the right to share ideas and the right to receive information and knowledge. Where is the freedom in that? - Senate File 166: How much are some Wyoming lawmakers willing to pay to promote their anti-immigrant and racist beliefs? Turns out, $5 million of your tax dollars. Senate File 166 would have sent more than $5 million out of state to support harmful and unnecessary immigration policies, like constructing of a permanent border between the United States and Mexico and transporting asylum seekers out of border states.
Wyoming has problems that need solving and funding so sending $5 million to border states doesn’t make any sense. We could be funding mental health services. Wyoming’s suicide rate is one of the highest in the country and in 2019 doubled the national average. Places like South Cheyenne have schools that are overcrowded and are in desperate need of updating. We should be investing in our youth and in Wyoming’s future, but instead extremist lawmakers cannot resist the opportunity for political showboating.
Freedom does not mean taking away people’s right to make decisions about their bodies and health care like this. Freedom is not taking away a trans kid’s right to play sports. Freedom is not funding a wall to keep brown people out, and freedom is not erasing history and preventing progress by censoring what is taught in school.
But all hope is not lost. Through all the bad I saw, heard, and felt this session, I was also inspired by the courage and power of my fellow Wyomingites – especially the bravery of young people who rose to have their tiny but mighty voices heard.
What does tomorrow look like? Tomorrow, we plot, plan and strategize. We think about the kind of Wyoming we want and we organize to get it. Having your voice heard at the legislature is a vital part of the fight for your rights but it’s not where we win. The fight for your rights begins by organizing your community, building power and then taking that power to the ballot box.
Only then will we all live in the Wyoming that we proudly promote in the tourism ads.
A version of this column also appeared in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle.
