Good News Out of Wyoming -Anti-Gay Marriage Recognition Bill Defeated!

      There is some good news coming out of Wyoming today!! A bill that would not allow the state to recognize any same-sex marriages performed outside of the state was defeated in the State Senate in a vote of 16-14. Though this bill had passed the Wyoming House of Representatives 31-28 earlier today, the Senate push a hold on the bill for the entirety of the current legislative season.

The Jackson Hole News and Guide has the story...

A bill that would have barred government officials from recognizing same-sex marriages performed outside the state died in the Wyoming Senate on Wednesday.

House Bill 74, titled Validity of Marriages, failed 14-16 in the Senate, after members of the House approved it on a 31-28 vote earlier in the day. 

The legislative wrangling drew the attention of Jackson Hole residents, including two women who were married outside the state but reside here.

“Sue Ann and I just couldn’t be happier,” said Jackson resident Jeri Batistolli, referring to her wife. “It’s terrific. The people of Wyoming have what they want — the ban on gay marriage — and we still have the U.S. Constitution.”

Batistolli, who married Sue Ann Robertson earlier this year, said legislators’ decision to vote down the bill affirmed an ethos that is central to the state’s character.

“It says that the people of Wyoming want to live and let live,” she said. “Whatever your view, they want to be fair.”

The defeat also proved significant for local legislators.

“I’m so proud of our legacy as the Equality State,” Rep. Ruth Ann Petroff said Wednesday afternoon. 

Petroff said she voted against the bill because its only purpose was to deny rights granted to couples in other states.