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A bill that would have banned recognition of same-sex marriages performed out of state was defeated Wednesday in the Wyoming Senate.

The Senate voted 16-14 to reject concurrence on House Bill 74, thereby ending weeks of passionate debate that took place in both houses of the Wyoming Legislature.

Laramie Sens. Phil Nicholas and Chris Rothfuss voted against the bill.

The Senate vote followed action in the state House of Representatives, where HB 74 passed on a 31-28 vote. Laramie Reps. Kermit Brown, Matt Greene, Glenn Moniz and Cathy Connolly voted against the bill.

HB 74 states marriage contracts from out-of-state are valid in Wyoming so long as they involve one man and one woman.

While current state law says marriage only exists between one man and one woman in Wyoming, it does allow for the recognition of same-sex marriages and civil unions performed out of state.

HB 74 was amended numerous times after it was introduced last month. The Senate removed much of the language referring to civil unions and also allowed couples in civil unions to have access to the courts to resolve disputes. The subsection was later removed in a joint committee.

Today, debate in the Senate was short, and it only centered on whether or not HB 74 violated the joint conference committee rules, which the senate president said it did not.

In the House, however, opponents of the bill took to the floor and argued passionately against HB 74.

Rep. Pete Illoway, R-Cheyenne, asked his colleagues to not concur on HB 74.

He cited Article 1, Section 2 of the Wyoming Constitution, which says, “In their inherent right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, all members of the human race are equal.”

“People are equal, whether you agree with their lifestyle or not,” he said.

Illoway said gays and lesbians are parents, siblings, business owners, civic volunteers, health care and social workers, teachers, board members, clergy and Wyoming residents who support the state with their tax dollars.

“They do lots of things,” he said, “so why are we doing what we’re doing?”

Rep. Ruth Petroff, R-Jackson, also asked the House to vote against HB 74.

“This bill does nothing more than to strip away liberties that have been granted by other states,” she said. “We go from being the Equality State to the Strip-Away-Liberty State.”

Petroff said HB 74 is not good for tourism, interstate relations, attracting businesses to Wyoming or the Legislature’s efforts to create an environment of liberty and individual freedom.

“This bill is not good for ‘loving our neighbor as ourselves,’” she said. “This bill is not good for ‘judging not.’”

Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, referred to a handout that state lawmakers received Thursday from the University of Wyoming Queer Advocacy Network that lists the 1,138 federal and state rights, benefits and privileges afforded by marriage.

“I … think that most of us in this body are fully aware of where this issue’s going in the next 10 or 20 years, and I’d ask you to be on the right side of history and vote ‘no,’” he said.

A supporter of HB 74, Rep. Owen Petersen, R-Mountain View, said the bill fills a void in statutes 20-1-101, which was passed in 1876 and says a marriage is a civil contract between a man and woman, and 20-1-111, which says marriages that are valid in foreign jurisdictions are recognized in Wyoming.

“During that period of time, there has been other entities, other kind of relationships ... that’s caused problems here,” he said. “There is a quandary that’s taken place on those that practice domestic relations.”

Petersen said HB 74 does not prevent future state lawmakers from redefining marriage or civil unions.

“This is necessary for the courts, for the people, for the citizens to go forward” he said. “I unquestioningly urge concurrence.”

Rep. Mary Throne, D-Cheyenne, an attorney, said HB 74 violates the Wyoming Constitution according to Article 1, sections 7 and 8.

“Our job is to uphold the rights of the minority. That is what our constitution is about,” she said. “This is this body’s last chance to vote against this piece of legislation that doesn’t do a darn thing to advance public policy in this state.”

Rep. Pat Childers, R-Cody, whose daughter is a lesbian, said he could not vote in favor of a bill that violates the Wyoming and U.S. constitutions.

“In all the time I was being raised, I was told that we need to separate the church and state,” he said. “This isn’t right.”

Childers also said the assertions are wrong that gays and lesbians can’t raise children as well as straight people.

“Both of my sons would be more than happy to let any one of my grandchildren go to my daughter to be raised,” he said.

When it was her turn to speak, Connolly, who is the only openly gay person in the Legislature, thanked the others for speaking against HB 74.

“This bill goes to the core of what it means to be human,” she said.

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Let me just read you two things that I think are just compelling. Article 1, Section 7: ‘Absolute, arbitrary power over the lives, liberty and property of free men exists nowhere in a republic, not even the largest majority’. These people are our neighbors, they’re our friends, they’re our brothers, sisters, and to suggest that they don’t have the rights to at least access the courts... When you go home after this vote, you’re going to look people in the eye. Your doctor, your lawyer, your friends, your neighbors. And you’re gonna tell them that you made them second-class citizens by this vote today if you pass this. You can’t do that, we are the equality state. This Senate and the people of Wyoming are better than that. They are better than House Bill 74. They’re so much better than that. And you know what? You are too.

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Now I know this group believes in small government. And I know this group believes in individual rights and freedoms but I’m not seeing that on this issue. I’m not seeing that sense and that will. Because what I’m seeing here is the heavy hand of government once again saying this minority group is not equal. Our role as legislators is not to legislate morality; it is not to bring our religion into politics. Mr. President, our role is to have a good system of education, to fix the roads, That’s why people send us here. This is not our authority, Mr. President, and I don’t think we belong here. I urge the body to vote against HB 74 and I can assure you that every no vote on HB 74 is gonna feel good.

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You right now have to vote on this, in light of Article 1, Section 3, that said ‘Since equality and enjoyment of natural and civil rights is only made sure through political equality, the laws of this state affecting the political rights and privileges of its citizens shall be without distinction of race, color, sex, or any circumstance or condition whatsoever’... It doesn’t say ‘except for a marriage or a civil union from another state’.”

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Now look, we bend over backwards to try and encourage the development of alternative economic activities in Wyoming. We want high-tech companies, we want educated people to bring their business here. And we’re willing to do almost anything to do that, except we kinda want to do that and have a big red badger on us that says “We want you here, we wanna give you a tax break. But your employees and your executives and the people and families that work for your company aren’t going to be treated the same as you were back home.”

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Mr. President, this amendment is brought forward in the hopes that we can perhaps warn folks that might be inadvertently caught up in our laws when they enter the state of Wyoming. This is really addressing folks that might not be aware of our new proposed law and the consequences of it, and this would perhaps satisfy a obligation that we would have to inform them so that the gist of the amendment, Mr. President, is an appropriation for $200,000 to the Wyoming Department of Transportation to establish signs all along the major entrances to Wyoming and the airports and the signs would inform our visitors to Wyoming that “Warning! Your marriage or civil union might be void or voidable in Wyoming. Proceed with extreme caution.” I feel that we probably have a bit of a moral obligation to do that, Mr. President, you know, so that people would not come into Wyoming believing that a solemnized civil union or marriage that they have obtained legally in another jurisdiction and brought forward to Wyoming would somehow concur any benefit whatsoever as they proceed to view the great grandeur and beauty of this wonderful state.

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