Comments on: Wyoming Lawmakers Take Aim At Marriage

By: Patrick

Patrick — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 00:49:11 +0000

When I lived in Wyoming in the 80s and early 90s things like this wouldn’t stand a chance, given the general Wyoming mentality of live and let live. However, beginning in the mid 90s the Mormon church began to make serious inroads in the state, including in Laramie – the “liberal” center of the state. The newspaper started regularly publishing pieces praising the Mormon church, highlighting the exploits of Mormon missionaries, etc.

I view the current marriage-amendment situation with the curiosity of seeing how much the state mentality has changed and to what extent the Mormon church is, yet again, behind it.

By: cowboy

cowboy — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 20:21:48 +0000

Guess which religion Petersen belongs to…

It’s the same one of one of the murderers of Matt Shepard.

By: Mike Camardelle

Mike Camardelle — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:02:08 +0000

Same crap we faced in Mississippi a few years ago, and now Senator Wicker is pushing for Statehood legislation where Mississippi will not have to follow Federal mandates. Not sure of the total legality once a lawsuit would be found, but it just shows how bigoted people in this state, and others like Wyoming now, can be. … The will of the people at the expense of others.

By: EZam

EZam — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 01:23:03 +0000

If we succeed at the SCOTUS level, all those laws and amendments banning same-sex marriage could become history.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 23:40:56 +0000

I don’t see why these state amendments aren’t challenged. While one can argue whether or not same-sex marriage is a fundamental right, LGBTs surely still have due process rights. We have the right, under the 5th and 14th Amendments, to address our grievances with our own states concerning any matter of law, through the normal political and legal processes available to any other minority. These DOMAs are only designed to deprive LGBTs of already existing rights, with no other purpose but to harm us as a politically unpopular class. This is already barred by Romer v. Evans. We may not have the right to marry, but we surely have the right to SEEK the right to marry, through the States’ already guaranteed political and legal processes.

Considering our recent successes challenging Prop 8, Federal DOMA, and DADT, I think the time is right to challenge state-level DOMAs under the precedent set by Romer. If we could succeed at the SCOTUS level, then the state-by-state strategy preferred by Gay Inc. could finally start to really bear fruit. With the unfair Due Process blockades placed by the religious right removed, we could see success in the States through suing in state courts, or petitioning our state legislatures and governors.

By: KZ

KZ — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 22:51:01 +0000

I assume they want to make it harder for the current law to be repealed or found unconstitutional by an ‘activist’ judge. Nonetheless, it’s a slap in the face of gays in that state. My state, Ohio, had its own DOMA. Then in 2004 Ohioans passed it’s own marriage amendment. It was weird because the amendment caused problems in Ohio’s court system with prosecuting perpators of domestic violence. This could possibly happen in Wyoming.

By: BlackDog

BlackDog — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 19:24:00 +0000

Gods, if something’s already illegal, shouldn’t that be enough for these guys?

“We want to make gay marriage illegal in our state!”

Um, it already is.

“Well, we want to make it even more illegal!”

If something is illegal, how can you make it *more* illegal?

“Don’t bother us with logic, or we’ll make THAT illegal too!”

Seems to be the mentality of these people.

Technically, under full faith and credit, states are required to recognize things from other states regardless of what it is. If they ever get rid of DOMA this would just be assumed, I would think.

Wyoming’s laws just happen to take that into consideration presently.