• OUT: Heated Rivalry’s Hudson Williams (“Shane Hollander”) will make his late-night debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this week on Wednesday, January 7.
(image via Depositphotos) Republican state legislators across the country have been introducing (and passing!) anti-LGBTQ bills at a rapidly increasing rate, usually under the guise of “protecting the children.” So imagine my surprise when I read that Wyoming Republicans are opposing a bill that would prohibit child marriage for those under 16-years-old in their state. Continue reading “Wyoming Republicans Oppose Bill That Would Ban Child Marriage”
Amy Coney Barrett being sworn in as Supreme Court Justice with Donald Trump & Justice Clarence Thomas (public domain) Some news items you might have missed: • The Gaily Grind: Guests at the Brussels “daddy orgy” where an anti-LGBT Hungarian politician was caught breaking lockdown rules thought the police who arrived to break up the party were part of the sex party, the organizer claims. • Fox19Now: Wyoming police are investigating after someone allegedly stole an LGBTQ Pride flag from a front porch and burned it. The Fitzpatric family says the vandal came right up to their front porch and even tripped on their Christmas decorations in order to snatch it up. • New York Times: The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused a long-shot request from Pennsylvania Republicans to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state, delivering an unmistakable rebuke to President Trump in the forum on which he had pinned his hopes. The Supreme Court’s order was all of one sentence, and there were no noted dissents.
The Supreme Court has rejected a Pennsylvania Republican congressman’s request to prevent Pennsylvania from certifying its presidential election results in favor of Joe Biden. This case is different from the lawsuit filed by the state of Texas this morning. https://t.co/ReS0eU0JsYpic.twitter.com/ybt6Dvlom4
• Pink News: Donald Trump spends dying days of presidency legalizing discrimination dressed up as ‘religious freedom.’ • Edge Media: An 18-year-old suspect accused of murdering a 15-year-old boy lured him into the woods in Cheshire, England, with a promise of sex before clubbing him to death a year ago, the prosecution in the case charged in court. • AZ Central: The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Arizona, upholding a lower court’s finding that there was no misconduct, fraud or illegal voting in the general election.
#BREAKING: Arizona Supreme Court rejects GOP effort to overturn election results, affirms Biden win in statehttps://t.co/g6lLovd2Gl
• Change.org: Trevor Wilkinson, a student at Clyde High School in Texas, was suspended after he wore nail polish to school. Now, over 125K people have signed a petition in support of his freedom of expression. • Instinct Magazine: Despite lowering before 2019, HIV infections are on the rise again. • Christmas Music: From Annie Lennox’s holiday release, A Christmas Cornucopia. As Slant Magazine wrote in 2010: “’God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ marries the traditional with the modern in a daring and ultimately very successful way. Lennox’s commitment to the material is palpable.”
Earlier this month, I reported on an incident at McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where homophobic and racist flyers appeared in the hallways of the school.
Students discovered flyers which read, “It’s great to be straight. It’s not OK to be gay. Black lives matter only because if it weren’t for them who would pick our cotton.”
“Join the kkk,” concluded the message, which appeared to be signed by “the confederate kid club.”
After Kaycee Cook, a substitute teacher and co-sponsor of the school’s gay/straight alliance, reported the flyers she was later notified that she’d been fired by Principal Jeff Conine.
Since then, Laramie County School District 1 Superintendent Boyd Brown announced that he had identified at least one student believed to be responsible for creating the racist and anti-gay flyers, and that Cook was likely to be reinstated at the school.
But wait – there’s more!
Last Wednesday, 20-25 students who are members of the GSA were called out of class to a meeting with three faculty members who told them they could no longer post any rainbow flags, wear any rainbow clothing or anything LGBTQ-related.
According to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, Ashlynn Kercher, an 8th grade member of the GSA, said, “They told us it was a school distraction and ‘You don’t want to make other people feel like you felt when you saw the posters.’”
The students were reportedly told that if they break the ‘no rainbow/LGBTQ paraphernalia’ rule they will be written up on dress code infractions, and possibly suspended.
Principal Conine told the Tribune Eagle he didn’t know anything about the meeting taking place and that he had not decided to ban anything.
But Ashlynn’s mother, Abby Kercher, spoke to the district’s Title IX coordinator, John Below, who reportedly told her he and the principal had decided to ban the flags and clothing.
“Because of the provocative use of flags, especially under the current controversy at the local junior high, the District will not allow the display of confederate flags on District property or at District events. Further, the District will review potential policies or regulations regarding the disruptive use of flags and symbols within the District.”
You’ll note the statement does not say the district is banning rainbow flags.
Superintendent Brown clarified the next day that rainbow flags were not being banned“as long as students do not use them to incite other students.”
During the last week of March, homophobic and racist flyers began to appear throughout the hallways of McCormick Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
According to the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, the flyers read, “It’s great to be straight. It’s not OK to be gay. Black lives matter only because if it weren’t for them who would pick our cotton.”
“Join the kkk,” concluded the message, which seemed to be signed by “the confederate kid club.”
#hideous
When the flyers were brought to the attention of Kaycee Cook, a substitute teacher and co-sponsor of the school’s gay/straight alliance, she contacted Wyoming Equality. The advocacy group works to protect LGBTQ people in the state.
The executive director for Wyoming Equality, Sara Burlingame, told the press that she had heard about the flyers from several members of the community.
“This is unacceptable,” she said in a statement to Queerty. “It does not reflect the values of Cheyenne. We’re not going tolerate this. And we’re going to show up and support our LGBT youth and our black youth with unwavering pride and support.”
Even the mayor of Cheyenne, Marian Orr, got wind of the flyers and tweeted her support to Cheyenne youth writing, “Tonight, my heart is the heaviest it’s been since taking office. This is not right. To the youth in our community: You are loved. You are valued. We need you to take us forward. You are Cheyenne.”
Tonight, my heart is the heaviest it’s been since taking office. This is not right. To the youth in our community: You are loved. You are valued. We need you to take us forward. You are Cheyenne. https://t.co/NSvk0MRkKv
When the Wyoming Tribune Eagle contacted Principal Jeff Conine about the flyers, he seemed to downplay the issue saying there were only two flyers found and that they were removed before the school day began.
But others, including Kaycee Cook, told the Eagle that the flyers were “all over the school.”
In fact, anti-LGBTQ bullying has been reported for weeks at the school with little done to tamp down the hate.
Some students say they stopped going to the school’s GSA meetings because a group of boys began verbally harassing and bullying the members of the group.
There are even reports of teachers calling same-sex students holding hands “disgusting.”
Cook says she’s taken the issue to supervisors for weeks without any results.
Here’s where it really gets messed up, though.
On March 27, Cook received an email from Principal Conine firing her.
(image via Wyoming News)
“I am notifying you that due to incidents that have occurred at McCormick you are no longer welcome as a guest or a substitute teacher in our building,” read the email.
Cook told the press she believes Conine’s actions were in retaliation for contacting Wyoming Equality.
The Laramie County School District 1 issued a statement about the debacle, which read:
“In the midst of an investigation regarding inappropriate flyers that were posted at McCormick Junior High yesterday, (LCSD1) is offering support to our LGBTQ and black students who were reportedly targeted through the incident.”
When contacted by the Eagle, Principal Conine told reporters he wasn’t prepared to make a statement about the email.
Since last week, at least one of the student’s responsible for the hateful flyers has been identified. LCSD1 Superintendent Boyd Brown told Wyoming News that the student would be “disciplined in line with district policy.”
Additionally, it looks like Cook’s dismissal will be reversed and she should be reinstated at the school soon.
Wyoming Equality shares this disturbing encounter high school students had with state Sen. Lynn Hutchings.
On Friday, February 1st, Wyoming Equality, the state’s only statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, hosted its bi-annual Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Civics Day where students from GSA clubs across Wyoming are invited to learn about state government and civic engagement.
Students from Central High School, accompanied by their club sponsor and high school teacher, went to visit their representative for their district, Senator Lynn Hutchings.
The legislation would prohibit “discriminatory practices based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment practices.”
Meeting with the children in the gallery of the state legislature, Hutchings said she was unfamiliar with the bill’s language so the students shared that they wanted her support because the bill would protect the students from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Hutchings’s response, per Wyoming Equality, was to compare being gay or lesbian with bestiality and pedophilia:
“If my sexual orientation was to have sex with all of the men in there and I had sex with all of the women in there and then they brought their children and I had sex with all of them and then brought their dogs in and I had sex with them, should I be protected for my sexual orientation?”
Wyoming Equality issued this statement regarding Hutching’s behavior with the high school students calling her language “unacceptable and inexcusable”:
It is our understanding that while the state legislature’s anti-harassment policy mentions no protected classes, including sexual orientation and gender identity, Senator Hutchings behavior was unacceptable and inexcusable. Fourteen- and fifteen-year old high school students wishing to engage with the legislative process should not have been confronted with the comments made by Senator Hutchings. Those students, some of which identify as LGBTQ, were deeply hurt and disturbed that they were compared to acts of beastiality and pedophilia. The students’ sentiment was exacerbated especially after Senator Hutchings hypothetically recounted the idea of sexually engaging with children then physically engaged with the students.
At Wyoming Equality, we are horrified. On GSA Civics Day, we expect students to be challenged and engage in lively civic dialogue. This is not what transpired. As guaranteed by the First Amendment, Senator Hutchings may express her beliefs and views however she wishes, but her behavior is not what we expect of adults in the workplace, and we expect even more from a Wyoming elected official. The students spoke with several legislators that day. For the exception of the incident with Senator Hutchings, the students said all their interactions with legislators were civil and respectful no matter where the legislators stood on bills and issues.
The mayor of Cheyenne denounced Hutchings behavior:
Shame on you, Sen Hutchings. We deserve better. Our youth deserve better. Bestiality is equivalent to being gay? Really? https://t.co/eb7euuPnOl
Almost 20 years after the violent murder of Matthew Shepard, Wyoming towns Laramie and Casper both held their first Pride events just a week apart.
The first Casper Pride celebration was held from June 8-11 and included a free film festival, “Pride in the Park” festival, a drag revue (held at straight bar Backwards Distilling Co. as there are no gay bars within 50 miles of Casper), and yes, a Pride march on the same day as millions of Americans observed the Equality March in Washington, D.C.
Just a week later, 115 miles down the road, Laramie also held its first Pridefest on June 23-24.
Speaking to Wyoming Public Media, Pridefest organizer Robert West called the event a “momentous occasion.”
“There is still this perception Wyoming represents what happened 20 years ago with Matthew Shepard. And I think Laramie and Wyoming have a long ways to go to be fully inclusive and accepting of LGBT people, but it’s important that this Pridefest is happening in Laramie to show that there has been movement; there has been growth,” West said.
“While this is a great time to celebrate with our potluck in the park and our drag show and our dance night, those are great events and they’re definitely important, it’s also important to know where we come from. And to know that violence against queer bodies and LGBT people is a still a huge reality not only in Wyoming and America but across the world,” said West.
Last week, I reported on newly introduced legislation in Wyoming titled “The Government Non-discrimination Act” that would legalize the right to discriminate against LGBTs by anyone who declared a “deeply held religious belief.”
At the time, the ACLU of Wyoming protested, issuing a statement which read in part, “The Government Discrimination Act’s effects would be significant and immediate. Laramie’s Non-Discrimination Ordinance would be unenforceable, and potentially even illegal. No other city would be allowed to enact non-discrimination protections. County clerks would be allowed to deny same-sex couples a marriage license, and would be able to do so without consequence.”
Today, House Bill 135 was recalled by the bill’s sponsors.
The action was in order to “give Wyoming citizens time for more thorough consideration,” the bill’s sponsors said in a statement emailed to media members Thursday afternoon. Supporters of House Bill 135 said it would protect the “free exercise of religious beliefs and moral convictions,” while critics said it would let people use those beliefs to discriminate against LGBT people.
“The intention of this bill has always been to hold Wyoming to the highest standard in terms of equal protection under the law,” Rep. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Lingle [photo], said in a news release. “The religious freedoms guaranteed to each and every one of us are the bedrock on which our Constitution is founded. When these unalienable rights are threatened, so too is every other constitutional right we enjoy.”
“I’m overjoyed,” said Sara Burlingame of Wyoming Equality, a group that advocates for LGBT people. “The vast majority of folks saw this bill for what it was and rejected it outright.” Burlingame said the bill would have allowed people, including government officials, to refuse service to LGBT people based on religious beliefs. She said the bill would have also been an “economic disaster” for Wyoming.
