MARCH 11, 2025|
Photo – Religious Freedom clip art
Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed into law last week a bill that seeks to balance individual religious freedom rights with the power of government.
With the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, now law, Wyoming joins 28 other states guaranteeing residents of all faiths can seek relief from oppressive state action.
House Bill 207 passed the State House with a 57-3 vote with Albany County Democrats Ken Chestek and Karlee Provenza joining Liz Storer of Teton County in voting against the measure.
The final vote in the Wyoming Senate was 28-3. One House Republican joined Democrats in opposing it, while three Senate Democrats joined Republicans in supporting it. The no votes in the Senate were all Democrats: Cale Case, Mike Girau and Chris Rothfuss.
Governor Gordon signed the bill into law on Thursday. The Wyoming Religious Freedom Act is modeled after federal legislation with a similar name.
The policy states: “State action shall not substantially burden a person’s right to the exercise of religion, even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability unless it is demonstrated that applying the burden to that person’s exercise of religion” is “essential to further a compelling governmental interest.”
Wyoming joins other states, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, in passing similar laws.
At the federal level, The Religious Freedom Act of 1993 was introduced by Democrat Congressman Chuck Schumer of New York. It was signed into law by then President Bill Clinton in response to a Supreme Court Decision regarding an Oregon case that held that the state could deny unemployment benefits to a person fired for violating a state prohibition on the use of peyote even though the use of the drug was part of a religious ritual.
