It was a sad day on Monday when House Bill 74, allowing Wyoming to not recognize same-sex marriages performed out of state, passed the Wyoming House of Representatives. 

To support House Bill 74, the legislature argues that some studies show that children raised by same-sex parents do not perform as well in school as other children who were raised by heterosexual couples. However, there are also studies that show that children raised by same-sex parents do equally well in school as children who were raised in traditional homes.  

A study published in the journal Demography by M.J. Rosenfeld and his colleagues of the department of sociology at Stanford University wrote: “The results show that children of same-sex couples are as likely to make normal progress through school as the children of most other family structures.”  

By using data from the 2000 Census, Rosenfeld was able to discover the different outcomes of children raised by same-sex parents. 

 In another study published in the journal Pediatrics, researchers Nanette Gartrell, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California at San Francisco, and Henry Bos, a behavioral scientist at the University of Amsterdam, found that children raised by lesbian mothers performed the same on psychological adjustment tests as their counterparts raised by heterosexual couples. They also found that children raised by lesbian mothers did better academically than those raised by heterosexual parents.

Unfortunately, with this evidence, I can only assume that the support for the bill comes — not from a wish to protect children — but from inability to accept the gay community.  This is extremely sad because more and more homosexual men and women are heading west. 

According to a study done by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, the number of same sex partners in Wyoming grew from 30 couples to 1,237 couples from 1990 to 2007. Furthermore, “New Mexico, Colorado and Utah are now among states with the highest concentrations of same-sex couples in their populations,” according to the study.  

Wyoming is taking a huge step backward by pushing away these members of society. In order to boost the economy, Wyoming should try to attract as many people to the state.  But, instead, we are almost asking people to leave with these discriminatory bills.  

Gay marriage will pass as the country becomes more open to the gay community. If we welcomed these communities with open arms, we could break the stereotype that Wyoming is only a place for conservative white people. Unfortunately, it looks like “inequality” will become the new state mantra.

Email: