Rihanna Kelver showed up outside the Wyoming Capitol building in Cheyenne on July 1 with a black leather jacket, black Converse, thrifted jeans and a message for state lawmakers who passed a law earlier this year spelling out which restrooms transgender people can use.
“ I am sorry that you let so much fear and hurt and a need for control to drive your duties as a lawmaker, to hurt people in your community, your own constituents,” Kelver, who is trans, told Wyoming Public Radio while sitting on the grass outside the Capitol lobby. “I guarantee you, every one of these legislators has somebody in their constituency that is trans. We are a very vulnerable community to violence, discrimination and persecution globally, nationally and statewide.”
Kelver was there to protest the “Protecting privacy in public spaces act.” In addition to that law, HB 72, electeds passed a series of measures in the recent legislative general session that regulate where trans people can go in Wyoming and what they can do, like barring them from participating in school sports. HB 72 became effective on July 1.
Arguments in support of the new policies range from protecting privacy to protecting women’s safety.
“That right to privacy should not be threatened by or trumped by someone else's view about gender. And that's really kind of what the bill seeks to do,” said Rep. Martha Lawley (R-Worland) during the session, the sponsor of HB 72.
“What you did with this bill is one more nail in a coffin of trying to silence and criminalize our existence,” Kelver said outside the Capitol.
The law Kelver was demonstrating against requires people using public facilities that are affiliated with the state or local governments, like restrooms, locker rooms and sleeping quarters, to only use the facilities that correspond with their assigned sex at birth. It directs managers of public facilities to designate these areas as exclusively for males or females, and allows them to provide a “reasonable accommodation” for a person.
It also lets the public sue the governmental entity that manages those spaces if they believe someone is violating that law.
However, the law does not criminalize the act of a person with a different gender than their sex assigned at birth using those spaces.
Research shows that people whose gender identity matches their sex at birth are at no increased risk when trans people use restrooms that align with their gender identity.
In fact, according to GLAAD, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, it’s trans Wyomingites who are at higher risk of harassment and violence in those places.
Kelver said that beyond drawing attention to the new legislation, she had another reason for demonstrating.
“ My hope is that if there is an arrest, it's a charge that can be tied to [HB 72] and we can take it through the courts,” she said. Kelver declined to name which attorneys or organizations might help represent her in that circumstance.
Heading indoors
It was a hot, sunny day in Cheyenne, and the sound of weed wackers filled the air. While Kelver and about eight of her friends and supporters waited to head inside the building and use the restroom, Jessie Rubino, the Wyoming state director for the Wyoming Freedom Caucus, watched the gathering from a distance.
Rubino’s job for the caucus is to analyze many of the bills that get filed for introduction to legislative sessions and share suggestions on how members of the caucus should vote via email.
“ I have a 2 year old daughter and I take this issue very seriously,” said Rubino. “I just think men are men, and women are women, and it's pretty simple.”
But she said it hasn’t been a common occurrence for her to see trans women in Wyoming using the same restrooms as she uses.
“ It's not, thank God. And I am grateful that the Legislature overwhelmingly passed House Bill 72 to ensure that it's not an increasing reality, because it is for other women,” Rubino said.
HB 72 passed third reading in the House by a vote of 52 to 8. It passed third reading in the Senate by a vote of 25 to 6.
Eventually, Kelver headed inside the Capitol building along with a few supporters, members of the news media and Rubino trailing behind.
Kelver said she’d alerted the Wyoming State Highway Patrol troopers stationed next to the restroom about her plans and attempted to alert Gov. Mark Gordon’s office shortly before the demonstration.
But when the time came to open the bathroom doors down the hall from the governor’s office, she encountered no resistance from troopers or security.
The Wyoming Freedom Caucus posted on social media after the demonstration that Gordon “waved the white flag. After making plans to violate the law known [to the governor], a man was allowed to waltz past Gordon's office and into the women's restroom - under the supervision of capitol law enforcement. Wyoming deserves a leader who fights for real women.”
In response to questions about the caucus’s statement from WPR, a spokesperson for Gordon wrote in an email, “The Governor has no comment.”
Outside the Capitol building, Kelver said it seems like the law has no teeth.
“ I'm going to continue to be who I am, where I'm at, and I’m going to continue to fight things like this law,” she said.
“My biggest message, especially to other trans people in Wyoming, is keep yourself safe, but you don't have to be alone in your fear,” Kelver continued. “You don't have to be quiet. You can be just as loud and proud.”
July 1 also marked the effective date of a new law that bans trans student-athletes from competing on sports teams that don't align with their sex assigned at birth. Another hundred or so laws also went into effect.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
