By Erin Reed | CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A new bill in Wyoming, House Bill 156, would declare that gender-affirming care is “not in the best interest” of transgender youth within the state. The bill would apply this presumption to custody battles, guardianships, and even the rules around Child Protective Services, raising real concerns that transgender youth could be removed from affirming parents who love them and follow best practice medical guidelines.

The bill has 13 sponsors, including the House majority leader, making it a significant threat for passage in the state and appears influenced by a recent social media firestorm among the far-right over a transgender teen in Montana.

The bill specifies, “To the extent applicable, in determining the best interests of the child under state law, there shall be a conclusive presumption that it is not in the best interests of the child to undergo any gender transition or gender reassignment procedures as defined by W.S. 20-2-206(a).”

The list includes puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery. The bill then takes the standard, which automatically applies to all state law, and further amends sections on grandparent visitation, petitions for guardianship, custody battles, and Child Protective Services with the standard.

The effects of such a provision could be disastrous for transgender youth and their parents in the state. A non-affirming parent who divorces an affirming parent could use the provisions to take a transgender child in a custody battle over gender-affirming care.

A grandparent or relative who does not approve of a transgender youth’s gender transition could argue in court that the parents are not acting in the best interest of the child and are acting in a way that harms them, and instead, they should be appointed emergency guardians. Even worse, Child Protective Services could be weaponized against transgender youth in the state.

Although some Republicans and anti-trans organizations have considered gender-affirming care to be “child abuse,” most states have steered clear of treating it as such, with Florida and Texas as major exceptions.

In 2022, Attorney General Ken Paxton wrote a letter stating that gender-affirming care should be treated as child abuse. This kicked off a major effort across the state to investigate the parents of transgender youth and pull those youth aside for questioning by Department of Family and Protective Services investigators. Those efforts have since been blocked in court. In Florida, a bill passed in the state had similar provisions but only applied to the enforcement of child custody orders in disputes between parents.

A recent case in Montana, however, may have spurred this new legislative attempt to target transgender youth through the use of child custody provisions. A suicidal transgender youth in Montana was removed from his home due to alleged unmet medical needs, psychological needs, and neglect and given a placement in a Wyoming facility due to lack of capacity in Montana.

Allegedly, the parents refused the move due to the belief that the transgender youth would obtain gender-affirming procedures in Wyoming, despite no evidence showing that this would be the case. It is notable that gender-affirming care is legal in Montana, so such a move would have been wholly unnecessary.

The parents were under a gag order by the state, which they allegedly broke, leading to accounts that have been associated with bomb threats, such as Libs of TikTok, to widely publicize a story with information on the child. Meanwhile, Republican Governor Greg Gianforte stated that after consulting with the director and examining the case documents, the DPHHS and family courts “followed state policy and law in their handling of this tragic case.”

Republicans in Wyoming appear to be reacting to the news of a transgender youth receiving basic mental health crisis care in their state by targeting all transgender youth in the state. This bill could potentially impact child care placements in Wyoming, even potentially preventing transgender foster youth from being placed with parents who would affirm them.

The Wyoming Freedom Caucus, just one week prior to members filing this legislation, stated, “We are sickened by reports that the child was sent to Wyoming to receive these treatments,” even though there is no evidence that any such treatments were received or that the transgender youth was sent to Wyoming for “gender transition treatment.”

“The WYFC will not rest until all gender reassignment abuses are illegal in Wyoming,” they added, indicating their intention for the bill to treat gender-affirming care as child abuse.

The bill has 13 cosponsors, including the House Majority Leader, Chip Neiman, indicating that it poses a significant threat for passage in the state and is a policy priority for House leadership. Should the bill pass, Wyoming would have the broadest provisions around the removal of transgender youth from affirming parents of any state in the United States.

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Erin Reed is a transgender woman (she/her pronouns) and researcher who tracks anti-LGBTQ+ legislation around the world and helps people become better advocates for their queer family, friends, colleagues, and community. Reed also is a social media consultant and public speaker.

Follow her on Twitter (Link)

Website here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/

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The preceding article was first published at Erin In The Morning and is republished with permission.

By Carrie Haderlie | CHEYENNE, Wyo. – When Grady Hutcherson, now president of the Wyoming Education Association, was a second grade teacher in Goshen County, a student he called “Frank” brought a doll to class every day.

That boy, Hutcherson said, played with female students — and his doll — every day.

“I didn’t care that he brought that doll,” said Hutcherson, who spoke at a Joint Education Committee meeting in Cheyenne Tuesday. “I cared about his safety, and him not being bullied by other people. That was my concern.”

However, proposed legislation under consideration by the Joint Education Committee would have a “chilling effect” on Hutcherson’s ability to protect that child, he said.

If passed in 2024, the draft legislation considered Tuesday called “Parental rights in education-1” would prohibit “classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity.” The draft legislation also contains parental notification requirements and complaint procedure processes.

“Based on this bill, I don’t understand if I would be able … to provide instruction to my entire class that it is OK for Frank to play with dolls, or females, or not,” Hutcherson, who taught for 24 years, said. “I am asking all of you to answer the question: ‘Would I be able to have that discussion with my class about Frank and the doll?’”

Sen. Bo Biteman (R-Ranchester) brought the bill to the committee, saying it mirrors legislation that passed the Senate last session. That previous bill failed because it was not introduced in the House.

“I would just suggest that it depends on, is it age appropriate? What are you going to explain to the kids and Frank about the doll? Is it just that Frank likes this doll and that’s OK?” Biteman said. “That is not a problem.”

Biteman said the bill addresses a much deeper issue delving “into gender identity politics.”

“This bill is aimed at stopping discussion happening in kindergarten through third grade,” Biteman said. “These kids can’t even wrap their heads around what the heck you are talking about. It prevents some teacher, who is a very big time activist, say, from going on a diatribe for 10 minutes about whatever issue they want to talk about using that as an opening.”

According to a memo to the Joint Education Committee from Tania Hytrek, operations administrator for the state’s Legislative Service Office (LSO), there are “several constitutional concerns with the proposed legislation.”

Hytrek clarified that the LSO does not take a policy stance, but that it is her office’s job to “advise on potential future issues.” In its memo, the LSO identified potential constitutional concerns related to protected speech under the First Amendment, among others.

“There is some precedent that, in the event that you are chilling the environment that students are being educated in, or chilling the environment that teachers are educating, that that is a violation of the students’ First Amendment rights,” Hytrek said. “There are lots of cases that discuss that you don’t shed your First Amendment rights as soon as you enter a school building, whether you are a teacher or a student.”

A ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law in Wyoming?

Marcie Kindred, a woman who identified herself as a mother and founding member of Wyoming Family Alliance for Freedom, said the bill is a carbon copy of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law. She spoke against the bill, and during around three hours of public comment, supporters and opponents of the legislation addressed the committee.

Ryan McKenzie, who identified himself as a Wyoming teacher, spoke against the legislation, saying it takes options away from teachers, parents and educators. It also “fixes a problem that isn’t broken,” he said.

“If a kid comes up to me and he is being bullied because his two dads are gay, for the reading of this bill, I would not be allowed to convene a classroom meeting to solve this problem,” McKenzie said.

McKenzie, who said he is married to a man in the U.S. Air Force, went on to describe a situation that happened to him in May.

“I had a parent out me to one of my kids,” he said. “If a kid comes up to me and they ask me about this situation, would I be allowed to tell the truth? Would I have to say ‘No’ and lie? Or would I be forced to deflect?”

McKenzie said he already refers to his husband as his “spouse” in his classroom because he considers it best practice to separate his personal life from his students. When asked, he acknowledged that his colleagues don’t always do the same, and use the terms “husband” and “wife.”

Nathan Winters, president of the Wyoming Family Alliance, said “the thousands of families that we represent are for this bill.” The Wyoming Family Alliance, according to its website, is a political advocacy partner of Focus on the Family.

Mary Schmidt, a member of the Natrona County School District Board of Trustees, spoke in favor of the bill, saying that her school district was already considering similar rules. Further, she said she has several issues with the constitutional First Amendment concerns outlined in the memo.

“[The memo] gives the example of chilling students, school personnel and others from disclosing their sexual orientation or gender identity, ” Schmidt said. “Why would a teacher or personnel be talking to a child of this age about their sexual orientation? That right there is questionable behavior.”

While opponents of the bill say that it “classifies” people, it actually protects them, she continued.

“The person who spoke about the story of the little boy with the doll. Was he classifying that boy into a transgendered or a homosexual? No, you can’t do that,” Schmidt said. “You have to just say, ‘You can’t bully him because he has a doll.’ This law is stating that you can’t imply the child is any classification. You just have to treat them as they are, at the developmental level they are at.”

The committee voted to split the bill into two parts: One regarding classroom discussion about sexual orientation or gender identity, and the other on parental notification as referenced in the bill text. The committee voted that a new bill draft regarding parental notification will move forward to the November Joint Education Committee meeting.

Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) made a motion not to carry the bill text regarding sexual orientation or gender identity to the next meeting. That motion failed in a 7-6 vote.

The committee voted 6-6 not to sponsor the balance of the bill regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. According to committee co-chair Sen. Charles Scott (R-Casper), the bill may come back as legislation put forward by an individual legislator, in which case, Scott said he would support it.

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The preceding article was previously published by the Wyoming Truth and is republished with permission.

The Wyoming Truth aims to report accurately and fairly. Please reach out to alert us to any errors at [email protected].

During her speech delivered to the University of Wyoming’s College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Education commencement Saturday afternoon, Republican U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis told graduates that “the existence of two sexes, male and female” was a “fundamental scientific truth.” 

The audience’s immediate reaction to her transphobic remarks were loud expressions of disapproval including jeering, boos, and demands she leave the podium.

The senator’s remarks came in the latter third of her twenty-minute address which had primarily focused on the critical need for teachers and in the fields of agriculture and other endeavors she noted were Wyoming hallmarks.

In a statement released by her office Sunday, a spokesperson noted that Lummis was apologizing to those who felt “un-welcomed or disrespected” by the comments.

“My reference to the existence of two sexes was intended to highlight the times in which we find ourselves, times in which the metric of biological sex is under debate with potential implications for the shared Wyoming value of equality,” the statement read.

“I share the fundamental belief that women and men are equal, but also acknowledge that there are biological differences and circumstances in which these differences need to be recognized. That being said, it was never my intention to make anyone feel un-welcomed or disrespected, and for that I apologize. I have appreciated hearing from members of the University of Wyoming community on this issue, and I look forward to continuing this dialogue.” 

Dr. Jenni Tabler, an Assistant Professor in the University of Wyoming’s Sociology Program in the College of Arts and Sciences tweeted, pointing out the graduate’s reactions along with the fact that the UW campus community had recently lost a Trans student to suicide, making the senator’s remarks more hurtful.

The university’s president also issued a statement Sunday expressing support for all members of the UW campus and community:

May 15, 2022

To the UW community:

On Saturday, the university celebrated spring 2022 commencement with a series of events that showcased the best of what makes us special: our students, our staff, our faculty and our ability to openly embrace and debate complex issues. One of our speakers made remarks regarding biological sex that many on campus take issue with. While we respect the right of all to express their views, from students to elected officials, we unequivocally state that UW is an institution that supports and celebrates its diverse communities that collectively make us the wonderful place that we are.

Thank you to the many students and families who celebrated with us this weekend. We welcome the incredible individuality and intellect of all our dynamic and diverse students and never want you to feel otherwise.

Sincerely,

Ed Seidel, President

Being overtly anti-trans at graduation in the same year we lost a trans student to suicide (even if she was oblivious) is beyond cruel.

— Jenni Tabler, PhD (@jenni_tabler) May 14, 2022

Hi 👋. If you are interested in the response of our university. There is a lot of reflection required to support students and the broader state. But we are also people. I’m just a person who lost a student this year. I want all my students to feel seen and to live and thrive. pic.twitter.com/otSXPcc0WE

— Jenni Tabler, PhD (@jenni_tabler) May 16, 2022

Senator Cynthia Lummis’ remarks are at the 50:11 time mark:

GILLETTE, Wy. – The culture wars over LGBTQ+ visibility, inclusion, LGBTQ+ materials and library books has now gotten librarians at the Campbell County Public Library facing the potential for criminal proceedings by Campbell County Wyoming, County Attorney Mitchell Damsky.

A spokesperson for Sheriff Scott Matheny confirmed that a report filed on Sept. 29 by county residents Hugh and Susan Bennett, had alleged that a crime has been committed at the local library and that the Bennett’s brought in several books they alleged contained obscene material, accusing leadership at the Campbell County Public Library of promoting obscenity.

According to journalist Ryan Lewallen, the News Director for Gillette-based County 17 News, the County Attorney declined to comment on an ongoing criminal issue, though Damsky confirmed the report has been received by his office and is currently being reviewed by his three brightest attorneys.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Damsky told County 17 News. “Like I said, I have my best minds working on it right now and they’ll decide on whether or not it’s going to be charged.”

The books that have fired up local outrage included “This Book is Gay” by Juno Dawson, “How Do You Make a Baby” by Anna Fiske, “Doing It” by Hannah Witton, “Sex is a Funny Word” by Corey Silverberg, and “Dating and Sex: A Guide for the 21st Century Teen Boy” by Andrew P. Smiler.

Susan Sisti, a local pastor with the Open Door Church located in Gillette, has been leading the fight to have the LGBTQ+ books removed from the Campbell County Public Library

“It’s really easy to go into the library and look around a little bit and find a filthy book that should not even be in a public library,” said Sisti. “These books are absolutely appalling.”

Sisti has been working with Hugh and Susan Bennett who filed the initial criminal complaint, the Casper Star-Tribune reported Friday.

“It’s very challenging to imagine how a child who’s sexually immature, physically immature, if there’s any reasonable purpose for exposing them to sexual behavior that’s far beyond their physical and mental and emotional and intellectual abilities to understand,” Hugh Bennett told the Star-Tribune adding that he viewed the books as “hard-core pornography to children.”

This Book is Gay, Sisti pointed out, includes illustrations of male and female genitalia and descriptions of oral and anal sex.

But child access to all kinds of material on the internet might be pertinent to the case, suggested the County Attorney. “What 9-year-old kid today can’t access Pornhub or whatever they want, you know what I mean?” Damsky said.

According to Lewallen at County 17 News, the criminal complaint report filed by Bennett references Wyoming Statute § 6-4-302 (c) (ii), which alleges the library, through dissemination, is promoting obscene material.

“Obscene material, per W.S. § 6-4-301, is defined as that which the average person would find encourages an excessive interest in sexual matters, depicts or describes sexual conduct in a patently offensive way, and lacks serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”

The battle over the books has “gotten contentious and out of hand” when it may have been resolvable by putting the books among material for adults, said Damsky.

“Personally, as a parent, I find the material to be just inappropriate for children and disgusting. But as a lawyer I’m sworn to uphold the Constitution and that’s why we are dealing with it with a fine-toothed comb,” Damsky told the Associated Press and multiple other media outlets.

Investigators haven’t contacted library officials about the case, leaving them unsure which books got the library in potential legal trouble, the library’s executive director, Terri Lesley told the AP.

In all, the library has been working through 35 recent complaints about 18 books, she said, a situation she said appeared to be quite unusual for a public library.

“It’s unexpected,” Lesley said. “We are trying to be the force of reason, trying to work through these things using the policy we have in place — review these books and do our due diligence.”

This is not the first anti-LGBTQ protest and controversary for the library. This past July magician Mikayla Oz, who has performed hundreds of shows including many comprised of family audiences across the Midwest, was scheduled to perform four in Campbell County, including one sponsored by the Campbell County Public Library System.

Oz was forced to cancel after she and the library received numerous threats received from members of the community.

“You ain’t fucking welcome in Gillette,” a community member wrote in one email Oz received. “If you come here there’s going to be issues,” another told her in a phone call, she said.

The reason for the outage is that Oz is a transgender woman from Iowa. This community outrage was also coupled with the library’s Pride Month book display in June according to journalist Nick Reynolds from the WyoFile.

The outrage — first at the books, and then at Oz’s magic show — caught many by surprise, particularly given what little promotion the show (which was funded without the use of any taxpayer dollars) received, and that it had nothing to do with sex, gender or LGBTQ topics. Library staff involved said they never gave Oz’s gender any thought prior to booking her.

“[Gender identity] is not something that we would ask about,” said Terri Leslie, executive director of the Campbell County Library System. “We can’t imagine having a questionnaire for somebody’s sexual orientation. So that’s just not something that we knew. What we did know was that she does a good job, that the kids love her, and that it sounded like a great family event.”

There is a long legacy of anti-LGBTQ bigotry in Gillette. Its former mayor, representative in the State legislature and United States Senator, Michael Bradley ‘Mike’ Enzi  was a longtime detractor of the LGBTQ community.

Among his numerous anti-LGBTQ positions, he supported legislation in the state senate to declare all same-sex marriages, including those conducted outside of the state, void in Wyoming. He supported the Boy Scouts exclusion of gay scouts and leaders and supported legislation to end federal aid to schools which prohibited the Boy Scouts due to their refusal to admit gay members.

Enzi supported fellow Republican and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum’s position regarding the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in  Lawrence v. Texas, which Santorum argued was wrong and that sodomy laws must be upheld.

Then, he voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act although he had expressed condolences to the Shepard family at the time of the murder of Matthew Shepard.

The region around Gillette and a majority of its people still reflect that anti-LGBTQ attitude of Enzi and many others a local person with knowledge of the ongoing cultural war in Campbell County who requested anonymity told the Blade Saturday:

“They won’t give an inch- no compromises cause they think all LGBTQ+ people are sinners and deviants and the ‘Gay Agenda’ is a threat to the American way of life and must be shut down forever.”

CHEYENNE – The Casper-Tribune newspaper and Wyoming Equality reported Monday that a bar in the Wyoming capital city was selling T-shirts that depict a caricature of a hard-core bearded motorcycle rider pointing a revolver at the viewer. “In Wyoming we have a cure for AIDS,” it reads. “We shoot fuck’n faggots.”  

According to the Tribune, Sara Burlingame, the executive director of Wyoming Equality, had approached the bar’s owner requesting he cease sales of the T-shirt but he refused. On the group’s Facebook page Burlingame wrote:

“We are sad to say that we failed to convince a local bar to pull these shirts from circulation. We hoped that they would choose to stop selling them when they realized the harm it did to the LGBTQ community and those living with AIDS.

We are not sharing the name of the business because we do not want them to gain notoriety/ sell more shirts off the pain of our community. It is a sad day. Wyoming Equality understands that…this sucks. And we’d all rather spend our summer getting ready for Rendezvous, spending time with family and friends and recuperating from a hard year.

But let’s do what we do best and pull together. If you have the capacity we are asking folks to promote this message:+ please don’t share the name of the establishment- you’ll only drive business to them+ please don’t protest the business (see above)“

The state’s Republican Governor Mark Gordon released a statement condemning the unnamed bar;

“It’s incredibly disheartening to learn that any business would offer a product for sale with a message like this. This hurtful rhetoric is not reflective of our state’s values, and does nothing but promote hate and division.”

The editor and publisher of a local Cheyenne newspaper, The Cheyenne Post in an article late Monday afternoon, identified the bar as the the Eagle’s Nest bar at 1101 Lincolnway in Cheyenne. Bar owner Ray Bereziuk told the paper on Monday afternoon that his bar has stopped selling the shirts. He said that he is “in the bar business, not the apparel business,” and that he would not be reordering the shirts.

The discovery that a Cheyenne bar was selling a violent, homophobic T-shirt drew a strong rebuke Monday from community and state leaders. https://t.co/CzROWYoMvQ

— Casper Star-Tribune (@CSTribune) July 13, 2021