Why I Don’t Vote Republican

There is a LGBT anti-discrimination bill making its way through the Wyoming legislature, and the amendment proposed by Republican tried to block the bill in committee are laughable.

Lawmaker kicked out of meeting as Wyoming committee clears LGBT anti-discrimination bill
Casper Star Tribune
By Laura Hancock
February 20, 2015

CHEYENNE -- A House of Representatives committee passed a bill that would protect gay and transgender people from discrimination in Wyoming, but not before ejecting a representative from the meeting.

Senate File 115 would add “sexual orientation or gender identity” to existing laws that protect people from discrimination based on race, religion, age and other protected classes. The bill had previously passed the Senate and now moves to the House floor for debate.

Rep. Harlan Edmonds, R-Cheyenne, was kicked out of the House Labor, Health and Social Services meeting Friday, after proposing an amendment to the bill that would make it effective when “hell freezes over,” instead of the date of July 1.

Committee Chairwoman Rep. Elaine Harvey, R-Lovell, had started the Friday afternoon meeting insisting people would remain civil. She told Edmonds to leave after his comment, which followed a more than two-hour discussion in which he also asked the bill’s supporters why pedophilia wasn’t in the bill.

I agree with Rep. Harvey, Rep. Edmonds crossed the line when he started to equate LGBT people to pedophiles. It is one to try to block the bill it is another thing to compare us to pedophiles.

So who is opposed to the bill?

Representatives from the Catholic Diocese of Cheyenne and the Wyoming Pastor’s Network testified the bill did not offer a broad enough religious exemption.

The law shouldn’t dictate how religious people can treat others, said Pastor Tim Moyer of Emmanuel Bible Church of Star Valley.

“It is the freedom for participants and parishioners of our churches to practice their faith according to their conscience,” Moyer said.

The bill already contains the standard religious exemption for religious organizations but they want more, they want to be placed above the law. They want to be able to just declare it is against “their religion” and be able to discriminate against gays or lesbians or bi-sexual, or trans people. Why single out LGBT people, why shouldn’t a person be able to discriminate against another religion, why shouldn’t a person be able to discriminate against, why are LGBT people singled out? Will they have a test to determine if it is against their religion or can they do it just by making a statement? Or will we have a list of religions that are okay to discriminate?