Wyoming town passes LGBT protections, nearly 20 years after Matthew Shepard murder
May 14, 2015
The Laramie city council on Wednesday approved a local anti-discrimination ordinance. It voted 7-2 in favor of the measure that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in housing, employment and access to public facilities such as restaurants.
“What a day for Wyoming, and what a day for the city that became synonymous with Matthew Shepard’s murder to now step up and do this right thing,” said Jeran Artery, head of the group Wyoming Equality, which has lobbied for anti-discrimination measures at the state legislature.
“And I would really encourage other communities across the state to follow Laramie’s lead,” Artery said.
Local organisers focused their efforts on Laramie after the legislature repeatedly rejected anti-discrimination bills, most recently early this year. The Laramie Nondiscrimination Task Force presented a draft ordinance to the city council last summer.
Representative Cathy Connolly, a Democrat from Laramie, is gay and a professor in the Women’s Studies Program at the University of Wyoming. She has pushed legislation repeatedly to try to pass an anti-discrimination bill at the state level.
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