December 07, 2018
CHEYENNE, WY - The Wyoming Republican Party would like to commend Senate President Eli Bebout, Speaker Steve Harshman and the members of the Legislative Management Council for their leadership during Wednesday’s meeting in Cheyenne. The Council took up the delicate job of reviewing the Anti-Discrimination and Sexual Harassment Policy which was revised by Management Council on February 10, 2018.
The civility and polite discourse that occurred during public comment is a testament to the strong and fair leadership provided by this council.
Members of the Wyoming Republican Party, including Chairman W Frank Eathorne, attended the Wyoming Legislator’s Management Council meeting to discuss the anti-discrimination policy. Members of the legislature were asked to sign the policy which included, for the first time in history, language making special protections for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI).
In Wyoming everyone is protected equally under the Wyoming Constitution in Article 1 Sections 2 and 3, as well as Article 3 Section 16. Equality under the law is also promoted under the Wyoming Republican Party’s Resolutions 1 and 2:
1. All individuals are endowed by their Creator from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death with the rights of Life, Liberty, Property, and the pursuit of happiness. The only purpose of government is to protect these rights for all.
2. Every citizen is equal before, equally protected by, and equally subject to, the law.
The Management Council Policy in its most recent form prior to yesterday’s meeting stood as a tool that could have been weaponized and used against Legislators who spoke in opposition to bills involving SOGI legislation or took other actions that might be perceived as discriminatory.
During yesterday’s meeting many Republicans stood in unity asking the Management Council to rid the policy of SOGI language, to take Legislators out of the language so they were not un
der the onerous burden of the policy and adopt the language laid out in Option 4 of the policy edit options provided by the Council.
In a final 7-6 vote our Republican leaders on Management Council stood with the party to adopt “Option 4” of the proposed policy revisions, which changed the language of the policy to once avoid weaponizing free and civil debate to be used against our Representatives and Senators.
The end result accomplished both goals of removing language with potential to stifle or punish civil debate on these sensitive subjects, and reaffirming the commitment of Wyoming citizens and Legislators to the equal protection under the law of the rights of the LGBTQ community.