Equality in the “Equality State”: Four couples launch marriage equality lawsuit in Wyoming

On March 5, Bonnie Robinson and Anne Guzzo, along with three other same-sex couples, filed a lawsuit against Wyoming for the right to get married, joining 61 cases in 30 states across the county — including Colorado — working to establish marriage equality.

“I was seeing the progress being made in other states, especially since the Windsor decision,” said Robinson, “and seeing that there really was progress being made, and I was in a state where nothing was happening at all that I could see, and I was so frustrated.”

Robinson lived in Colorado for 20 years before moving to Laramie, Wyoming in 2013 to be with her partner, Anne Guzzo.

“In Denver I felt very comfortable with myself and who I am, and I really didn’t think anything of it,” said Robinson. “But it turns out in Wyoming, where it’s not nearly as populated, sometimes being out as a lesbian can make you an activist in a way.”

While there are numerous legal protections in place for the LGBT community in Colorado, Wyoming lacks statutes regarding LGBT employment discrimination, housing and relationship recognition, which Robinson quickly discovered.

She said it’s ironic that Wyoming — nicknamed the ‘Equality State’ for being the first U.S. territory to allow women the right to vote — refuses to recognize her commitment to her partner.

“Some people aren’t going to agree with (same-sex marriage), and that’s okay,” said Robinson, “but then not agreeing with it shouldn’t prevent us from having the same protections that other people have. It shouldn’t prevent us from being treated the same legally.”

Though Wyoming has no constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the state passed legislation in 1977 that not only prohibits marriages between people of the same gender, but prevents the state government from recognizing marriages of same-sex couples who might be recognized elsewhere.

Although Robinson has never worked as an advocate before, she felt compelled to act and work to make Wyoming live up to its name as an equality state. “I was really frustrated one day, and I turned to Anne and I said, ‘you know, we should start a lawsuit.’ And she looked at me and asked, ‘Is that a proposal?’”

About a week later they found out the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) was putting together a lawsuit and needed a fourth couple. “We decided we couldn’t not do this,” said Robinson.

Robinson met Guzzo four years ago through her lifelong passion for dance. “Anne at the time was coming down to Boulder every Monday night to take dance lessons, and she wanted somebody to dance with.”

They met online and became dance partners, meeting in Boulder every week for Lindy Hop, a form of swing dancing. “We got to know each other and I really started finding so much in common. We ended up dating.”

Robinson and Guzzo are still very active dancers in Laramie, Denver, and Boulder. “It was so neat to meet someone who was just as passionate about dance as I am. It’s very much a part of our lives together.”

But like numerous same-sex couples throughout the nation, Robinson and Guzzo faced challenges that were exacerbated by state laws refusing to recognize their relationship.

“In January of 2013, we had a health scare,” said Robinson. “We started talking about, what if they won’t allow me to see Anne in the hospital? What would happen? There are all sorts of protections that marriage provides that are in place that other people can take for granted, and we didn’t have those.”

In addition, Guzzo’s married co-workers are able to obtain health insurance for their spouses through her work, but Robinson is not eligible. “If you sign up for private insurance, they (Guzzo’s work) will pay a certain amount of that, but they add it on as extra income and then tax you.”

“Anne is taxed heavier than her married collogues because they count the premiums as extra income,” added Robinson.

Aside from all the legal protections, Robinson emphasized that there is also an important social aspect to having her relationship with Guzzo recognized as a marriage by the state.

“You can make a commitment to somebody and have it be serious and lifelong, but when you introduce somebody to your girlfriend, it’s an entirely different thing than introducing somebody to your spouse or to your wife,” said Robinson. “It doesn’t convey the depth of our relationship or our commitment in any way, and there’s a certain amount of acceptance and understanding when you say you’re married — of how much you mean to each other.”

Public perception in Wyoming is shifting in support of same-sex marriage, even among local conservative lawmakers. Less than a week after the lawsuit was filed, seven Republican Wyoming legislators came out in support of marriage equality.

“We support a small government that works best when it gets out of the way,” the op-ed in the Casper Star-Tribune said. “Just as our government has no place putting undue burden on businesses, it certainly has no place defining our families or our marriages.”

If the lawsuit is successful, Robinson and Guzzo plan to marry in Wyoming, where Guzzo grew up and has family. “It’s really important to Anne that we get married here,” said Robinson.

In the meantime, the couple continues to share their passion for dancing and plans on teaching Lindy Hop to Laramie LGBT couples this summer.

“We’ve found that regular classes push some LGBT folks away because they refer to ‘men’ and ‘women’ instead of ‘lead’ and ‘follow,’” said Robinson. “It can be awkward for a female lead to ask a straight female to dance, or a male follow to ask a straight male to lead. But not dancing with others defeats the point of social dance!”