Storm chasing team Basehunters recorded the formation of an impressive supercell, or rotating thunderstorm, in Wyoming.
Really quite beautiful.
Over 3.4 million views in less than two days.
Wyoming sees statewide campaign for marriage equality
A new campaign to legalize same-sex marriage in Wyoming, Wyoming Unites for Marriage, kicked off on the steps of the Capitol building in Cheyenne, Wyoming on Monday.
The campaign will work in conjunction with a lawsuit filed in state court on behalf of four same-sex couples, along with the National Center for Lesbian Rights, challenging Wyoming’s ban on marriage for gays and lesbians.
Jeran Artery, chairman of Wyoming Equality, said advocates will hold rallies and discussions throughout the state to build support for the lawsuit and their goal — to make civil unions between same-sex couples legal in the state.
“As that case makes it way through the courts, there is nothing more important that we can do than have meaningful conversations about why marriage matters to all of Wyoming’s families,” Artery told supporters Monday.
“At the end of the day, marriage for same-sex couples is about treating others like we would like to be treated,” he added. “In Wyoming right now, loving same-sex couples and their families are being denied the protections that only marriage can provide.”
Citing the national trend, Artery predicted it won’t be long before same-sex couples can marry and have equality in Wyoming — known as the Equality State.
Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, a Cheyenne Republican, said he has supported same-sex marriage in the 10 years he has served in the Wyoming House. During that time, the Legislature has not passed any anti-gay legislation. He predicted gay marriage will no longer be an issue 10 years from now.
(via Trib.com)
Wyoming: House committee advances domestic partnership bill, votes down marriage equality
The Wyoming House Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee voted down a marriage equality bill, HB169, in a 5-4 vote.
Shortly thereafter, the committee voted to advance HB 168, a domestic partnership bill, carrying most of the legal rights of heterosexual marriage has cleared the committee by a vote of 7-2 and is headed to consideration in the full House.
Wyoming: House committee to consider marriage equality
The National Center for Lesbian Rights sends us this press release:
Three bills—marriage equality, domestic partnership, and non-discrimination—have just been introduced, and the first committee votes are only days away.
At noon on Monday, January 28, the House Corporations Committee will hear testimony on the marriage equality and domestic partnership bills. If one or both pass committee, they will proceed to a vote by the entire House of Representatives a few days later.
On Wednesday, Jan 30, at 8 a.m., the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on the non-discrimination bill.
The votes will be extremely close and we need you, your friends, and your family to help secure a historic victory.
Wyoming, I should note, is The Equality State.
Click here to contact your Wyoming legislators.
Wyoming to consider LGBT marriage or other protections
Marriage equality, or some form of legal protections for gay and lesbian couples, could become a reality in Wyoming sometime soon.
The Jackson Hole Daily reports on a pair of bills that have been introduced with bipartisan support, backed by Jackson Republican Rep. Keith Gingery and Laramie Democratic Rep. Cathy Connolly:
House Bill 169 would change the state’s definition of marriage to say that marriage is a civil contract between “two natural persons.” Current law says that marriage is a contract between “a male and a female person.”
This piece of legislation would plug gay marriage into the state’s existing framework for marriage, Gingery said. It simply would open the rights afforded to heterosexual couples to gay couples as well.
“Legally speaking, I would prefer the gay marriage bill,” he said. “We already know how it works.”
House Bill 168, which Connolly filed Monday, would create a legal framework for domestic partnerships, allowing same-sex couples to “obtain the rights, responsibilities, protections and legal benefits provided in Wyoming for immediate family members.”
The law would consider a member of a domestic partnership to be a spouse under all state rules and laws.
Gingery is a Catholic and says the bills protect church policy.
(via Towleroad)
Wyoming: Anti-gay marriage bill rejected by state Senate
From LGBTQnation.com: The Wyoming Senate late Wednesday voted to reject House Bill 74, which would have banned out-of-state gay marriage from being recognized. The bill is now dead for the remainder of this year’s legislative session.
The Senate vote was 16-14 against the measure.
Earlier in the day, the House approved the bill by a vote of 31-28.
As reported yesterday, the Wyoming legislative session ends Thursday, and today’s vote came just hours after a House Committee passed the measure 4-2 on Tuesday night.
Republicans have been cramming this bill, quite literally, into the final possible moments of the session.
Had the Senate approved House Bill 74, any gay couple married in another state will automatically have their marriages invalidated as soon as they cross the Wyoming state line.
Senate Democrats spent much of the day fighting the bill, and called for a rules committee meeting on whether or not HB 74 was constitutional.
The bill was eventually brought back to the floor with a favorable recommendation from Rules. But even then, Republicans just could not muster enough support to pass the bill.