LGBT Stories: A Repressed Memory Of A Traumatic Gym Class and An Abusive Father

NATHAN MANSKE

Nathan Manske and Marquise Lee recently finished a 4 month, 50 state tour of the United States collecting stories for their I'm From Driftwood site. We'll be sharing some of the stories they collected along with some of the insight into what they saw. They're still encouraging people to submit their written stories via IFD.

Additionally, Nathan and Marquise will be at the Rainbow Book Fair tomorrow at the LGBT Center in NYC from 11am-5pm. It's the only LGBT book fair in the country and they'll be selling their self-published I'm From Driftwood Book, which is a compilation of some of the best stories from the site.

Will is a steadfast LGBT advocate in Wyoming and has consistently been fighting what might seem to some as a losing battle in the state. But knowing that people like his friends and him decide to stay in Wyoming and fight the good fight is incredibly inspiring. He's been mentioned on Towleroad before and his Facebook posts are constant reminders of his commitment to fairness and eqaulity. His dedication and vigilance is why it's so heartbreaking to hear him share the story he shared. People like Will are doing so much good, you can't help but want the best for him.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

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Wyoming Senate Kills Bill Which Would Have Barred State from Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages Performed Elsewhere

The Wyoming Senate yesterday killed a bill that would have prohibited the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, the Star-Tribune reports:

The defeat means it may be up to the Wyoming Supreme Court to resolve a conflict in state law about whether the state recognizes same-sex marriages from other states and countries.

By a 16-14 vote, senators rejected a last-minute compromise version of House Bill 74, ending weeks of heated debate and emotional arguments over the legislation from both sides of the issue.

Earlier in the day, the bill barely passed the Wyoming House 31-28.

Why was it killed?

...state Sens. John Hines, R-Gillette, and Bill Landen, R-Casper, who cast the deciding votes against HB74 on Wednesday, said they opposed it because it didn’t guarantee same-sex couples access to Wyoming courts to get a divorce or for other disputes.

Hines and Landen had joined a majority of senators last month in approving a version of HB74 that included such a guarantee for gay couples in out-of-state civil unions.

But the Wyoming House rejected the Senate’s version, and a compromise bill hammered out by a legislative conference committee earlier this week stripped out any reference to court access or civil unions.

Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment Dies in Wyoming House

The Wyoming House failed to take action on a legislative proposal to amend the state's constitution to bar recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The measure passed the senate in late February and would have required a two-thirds vote in both houses to advance.

The AP reports:

House Majority Floor Leader Rep. Tom Lubnau, R-Gillette, said he didn't want to spend hours of floor time debating a bill that didn't have the votes to pass. The Legislature is set to adjourn next week.

Another bill was still pending that would change Wyoming law to specify that the state would only recognize marriages between one man and one woman. Disagreement remained between the House and Senate over whether the state should allow same-sex couples who entered civil unions elsewhere to have access to the state court system to resolve any issues that arise in their relationships.

Rep. Amy Edmonds said that considering the differences in the House and Senate positions on the bills, she believed its future is "tenuous at best." The Cheyenne Republican served on a conference committee assigned to work out a compromise position on the pending bill.

Another bill, still pending, would amend the constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Wyoming Senate Passes Anti-Gay Marriage Bill 16-14

Wyoming's Senate voted 16-14 to approve a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the state from recognizing same-sex marriages performed elsewhere:

House Bill 74 passed 16-14 after tagging on a last-second amendment guaranteeing out-of-state couples in civil unions access to Wyoming courts.

Because of the amendment, the bill will now head back to the House to approve the changes. The House passed the legislation late last month 32-27.

Supporters of the bill, House Bill 74, said the legislation is needed to resolve a conflict in Wyoming law, which defines marriage as a contract "between a male and a female person" but also recognizes any valid marriage performed outside the state.

Gag:

After the final vote, a few dozen people held prayer circles outside the Senate chambers in thanks for the bill's passage.

Wyoming Senate Advances Anti-Gay Marriage Bill, Opens Door to Civil Union Recognition

An bill that would bar recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere received a second reading and approval in the Wyoming Senate yesterday. 

The bill, in its original form would have prohibited the state from recognizing same-sex marriages and civil unions:

However, the Senate approved an amendment by the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Curt Meier, R-LaGrange, to take out language that would prohibit recognition of out-of-state civil unions.

Meier said the language, inserted by the House before it sent the bill to the Senate, is confusing. And since civil unions aren't recognized under Wyoming law now, he said, there's no need to ban something that legally doesn't exist.

This entire effort is receiving the most resistance from Republican state senator Cale Case, who proposed a $200,000 appropriation for road signs that would alert visitors from out-of-state: "Warning: your marriage or civil union may be void or voidable in Wyoming. Proceed with extreme caution."

Case railed against the anti-gay measures:

“We should kill this bill. We should kill it right now,” [Case] said. “We should kill it because it’s not very well thought out. It has enormous practical implications.”[...]

“What about the millions of people that visit Wyoming? That just come for vacation,” he said. “We’re so proud of our visitors, now we’re going to say all of you visitors who happen to be from another state, when you come across the border, you’re magically not together any more. ‘Poof.’ It’s gone. Don’t get into a car wreck. If you’re in a hospital and you’re dying, and your partner is with you, we’re going to have to call your mother because that’s the nearest relative that we’re going to recognize under Wyoming (law) to make decisions about your life.”[...]

“Gays and lesbians live and work among us. They’re also soldiers in the military,”he said. “They’ve been here and talked about their service in Iraq and … now you’re going to deny them the benefits (of marriage of civil unions).”[...]

A final vote is scheduled for today before the bill heads to the Governor's desk for signature.

More Bad Gay-Related Legislative News In Wyoming

Lots of anti-gay legislative news has come out of Wyoming this month. The bad news continued this past Friday when bills that would introduce marriage equality and legalize civil unions died at The House Judiciary Committee.

The Wyoming Tribune Eagle reports:

"The House Judiciary Committee split 5-4 on whether the rights and protections of marriage should be expanded to civil unions. Supporters argued that House Bill 150 is a practical solution for a state that doesn't recognize common-law unions. Opponents countered that the bill represents a slippery slope toward legitimizing homosexual marriages. Meanwhile, the proposal in House Bill 149 to redefine marriage as a union between two natural persons instead of one man and one woman died for lack of a motion."

"Couples living together as spouses shouldn't be treated as single individuals under the law, said Laramie resident Will Welch. He added that tradition is a weak argument to block either proposal when things like slavery and racism were once considered tradition. Either bill would recognize the right to be in a valid, loving relationship, said Joe Corrigan, a Cheyenne resident and chairman of Wyoming Equality, an advocacy group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals."

But even before all of that: late last week the House approved a bill prohibiting recognition of out of state same-sex marriages and civil unions.