A wife, a pink bear cub, and four dead white guys carved in a rock

This morning when I would have been writing about state laws concerning LGBT equality, I was busy troubleshooting the blog. My friend Lauren was kind enough to text me that our About page was down. It turned out to be an easy fix–all I had to do was delete a problem plug-in–but I figured it out by trial and error. So it was a time-consuming easy fix.

Now we’re in a new state. We entered South Dakota via Highway 16, with no notice at all. There was a sign telling us we were entering the Black Forest, which I almost took a picture of, but no mention that the west end of the Black Forest was also the western border of South Dakota. So, as briefly and completely as possible (likely not really either), I will try to cover the marriage and other LGBT equality laws in the three states I have neglected.

But first I want to direct you to a great post on fivethirtyeight.com. It’s mainly about the likelihood of Maine’s Question 1 getting defeated (the odds are good), but there are some great points about what makes a state more or less likely to pass such initiatives or other legislation. Nate Silver is dazzlingly mathematical, but here are the main points concerning all states, filtered through my humanities brain:

• At the polls, marriage equality bans fall 1.9 percentage points every year.
• Ballot measures that include civil unions in the ban fall 5-6 points each year.
• The two strongest predictive factors for a marriage equality ban succeeding are the religiosity of the population of the state, and when the election happens–since every year the support wanes, and in off years, only the predominant party’s base voters come out to vote.

Now, back to ID, MT, and WY.

Idaho

• As of 2006, when Amendment 2 to the ID Constitution passed at the polls, 63% to 37%, “A marriage between a man and a woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this state.” Both civil unions and marriage are prevented by this amendment. [via CNN, Wikipedia]
• After they try to call your parents, your spouse (?), your guardian, or your relative, your same-sex partner can make medical decisions for you.
• Any adult can adopt a minor, and while there is no law prohibiting same-sex couples from jointly adopting or adopting each other’s children, it has never been approved or denied in the courts.
• In Idaho you may not amend your birth certificate to reflect your sex reassignment.
• There are no hate crimes laws concerning LGBT people.
• Nothing prevents discrimination against you for sexual orientation or gender identity.
• There is no safe-schools legislation for LGBT kids. [all of the above via HRC, except as noted]

Montana

• As of 2004 when a Initiative 6 passed at the polls, 66% to 33%, and the Montana State Constitution was amended, “Only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state.” [via Wikipedia] There is no legislation concerning civil unions.
• Same-sex partners may not make medical decisions for you unless a written declaration authorizing those decisions is provided–it must be signed and witnessed by two people.
• Unmarried adults can adopt children, and while there is no law prohibiting same-sex couples from jointly adopting or adopting each other’s children, it has never been approved or denied in the courts.
• After sex reassignment surgery, you may get your Montana birth certificate changed to reflect your true gender.
• There are no hate crimes laws concerning LGBT people.
• Nothing prevents discrimination against you for your gender identity. Sexual orientation is protected for public employment only.
• There is no safe-schools legislation for LGBT kids. [all of the above via HRC, except as noted]

Wyoming

• This is the biggest news of all of the research I did tonight: maybe we were married in Wyoming! Same-sex marriage is not permitted in Wyoming. However, twice legislation was introduced to ban recognition of same-sex marriages from other states. And twice it failed. First it died in committee in 2007. And in 2009, an amendment to the state constitution was considered and defeated in the House, 35 votes to 25. So it doesn’t mean we were married. It just means we were not not married. [via Wikipedia]
• A same-sex partner may make medical decisions for you in Wyoming, but practically everyone else in the world (spouse, adult children, parents, adult siblings, grandparent, grandchildren, mailman, housekeeper) has priority. (Those last two are a joke. Just wanted to see if you were still with me.)
• Anyone living in Wyoming for 60 days can adopt children, and while there is no law prohibiting same-sex couples from jointly adopting or adopting each other’s children, it has never been approved or denied in the courts.
• After sex reassignment surgery–and a court order, you may get your Wyoming birth certificate changed to reflect your true gender.
• There are no hate crimes laws concerning LGBT people–or any other group. [via Wikipedia]
• Nothing prevents discrimination against you for your gender identity or sexual orientation. [via Wikipedia]
• There is no safe-schools legislation for LGBT kids. [all of the above via HRC, except as noted]

So there you have it, folks. The legal lowdown on being queer in ID, MT, and WY.

Do you live in one of these states or have an experience concerning the laws or communities in these states? Leave a comment if you have an addition or correction.

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Snow! Just outside of Butte

We were going to stop in Billings for some Internet time at a cafe.

But at a rest stop between Columbus and Billings, we decided to power through to Sheridan, WY. Critical to this decision was a call to Peter D’s RV Park in Sheridan. There was no answer, only a “message machine,” as Ami put it. Peter said on his message, “We have Wi-Fi that works.”

Peter D, those five words won our business over the Sheridan KOA any day.

Also at the rest stop between Columbus and Billings were some very interesting signs. One said that rattlesnakes had “been observed,” and warned rest stoppers like us to stay on the path. Because rattlesnakes, apparently, hate paths. The other said not to drink the water because of nitrites in it. IN ALL CAPS AND BOLDFACE ,THE NOTICE WARNED NOT TO MAKE INFANT FORMULA OUT OF THE WATER. This possibility was further precluded by the fact that said nitrite-laden water was turned off. More boldface: “Medicinal hand gel is available.” I found it in the soap dispenser. Ami didn’t.

Back at the rig, as I’ve grown fond of calling it, we each ate a cheese sandwich. Loaded with mayo and mustard because the whole wheat Great Value bread we bought in Cataldo, WA is nearly inedible. Any saliva you might have in your mouth is instantly absorbed. They could clean oil spills with slices of Great Value. During the ride, our fridge had popped open and one of the cabinets had ejected several items.

But the most amazing and unlikely thing that happened at the rest stop between Coumbus and Billings was the Diet Pepsi Incident.After Ami made our mustardy, mayo-y sandwiches, I grabbed a couple of Diet Pepsis for the road. Back at the front end of the rig, Frances had awakened and was beginning to cry. I stashed my Diet Pepsi on the dash, and opened her door to get her out of her car seat. The can rolled off the dash onto the floor of the car. Somewhere in that fall, it punctured.

Soda. Soda everywhere.

I’m grateful I was wearing my glasses, because they were soon covered in Diet Pepsi. As was my hair, my face, and Ami’s sweater–which I was wearing. I backed up, as you would, too, if you were attacked by Diet Pepsi, but the soda followed me, continuing to soak my head and torso.

Despite the setbacks, we made it past Billings and on to Wyoming. Wyoming! Our fourth state of the journey. We rolled into Peter D’s RV Park around 9 p.m. The water, due to the weather, had been shut off at 8. Freezing in the Wyoming night, we began our nighttime setup. Which is, though still a ridiculous chore, becoming easier.

I promised you information about marriage equality in the states we have visited, and I have not forgotten that promise. I won’t just say, “There isn’t any,” and leave it at that. But it’s late here in Wyoming, a whole time zone (nearly two!) from our origin. So I will leave that for morning, when I wake up to sample Peter D’s Wi-Fi that works once again.

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