HRC plans Wyoming office to fight for nondiscrimination protections

The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organization, is hiring a full-time Wyoming employee, who will work with state and local governments on nondiscrimination protections.

The Washington, D.C.-based organization counts 1,700 members and supporters in the Equality State. The HRC Wyoming staff member will focus on nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people in housing, employment and public spaces, said Hubert Tate, a spokesman for the HRC.

The employee also will work to prevent harassment and violence against LGBT people, support LGBT youth in schools and reduce the stigma of HIV and AIDS.

“The person will be based in their car, going from city to city, meeting with stakeholders,” Tate said.

The organization will help the state’s small businesses and churches be more inclusive, too, said Brad Clark, HRC director of programmatic development.

The HRC Wyoming staff member will work with other LGBT organizations in the Equality State.

LGBT rights in Wyoming have come to the forefront in the past year, starting with an effort called Wyoming Unites, which is fighting for marriage equality with a publicity campaign.

Seven GOP state lawmakers wrote a guest editorial saying it is time for the state to allow gay marriage because it strengthens families. Four couples and Wyoming Equality filed a lawsuit against the state’s marriage ban in March.

“Now is the moment to seize and capitalize on the grand opportunity to recognize the dignity and worth of LGBT Wyomingites,” Clark said. “We will work with partner organizations across the state to change hearts and minds to advance LGBT equality.”

The fight for anti-discrimination protections will be in tandem with the fight for marriage equality, said Jeran Artery, chairman of Wyoming Equality. If an employer saw a gay couple's marriage announcement in the newspaper, the gay employee could get fired under current law.

"A lot of the folks in the LGBT community have said, 'The marriage thing is great and we want that, but maybe we are doing this in reverse order. Maybe we should have the protections first.'" he said. "Unfortunately, in Wyoming, being gay is a perfectly legitimate reason to fire somebody, and that's got to change."

While the organization hasn’t had a presence in Wyoming until now, it said it provided money on efforts to pass the 2013 nondiscrimination bill, which failed, and a domestic partnerships bill, which also failed.

The organization said it helped the successful effort in Jackson to extend nondiscrimination protections to city employees on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Earlier this year, the HRC surveyed LGBT Wyomingites. Forty-six percent of respondents had lived in Wyoming more than 20 years, and half were in committed relationships.

One-third had experienced harassment at work, a quarter had experienced employment discrimination, 23 percent had experienced harassment at their place of worship and 47 percent experienced harassment on the street, according to an HRC statement.

Rep. Gerald Gay, R-Casper, said he probably wouldn't vote for an anti-discrimination bill.

"Discrimination based on somebody's behavior is a much more subtle thing. Because how do I know if you're homosexual?" he said. "I can't just tell by looking at you."

by Laura Hancock Star-Tribune staff writer

Copyright 2014 by Trib.com, Star Tribune, Casper, WY. All rights reserved.

The Gayly – September 18, 2014 @ 10:20am