Gillette’s hate crime ordinance could soon be a thing of the past.
The city government established its “malicious harms” law two years ago, adding increased penalties for crimes motivated by bias. But in their most recent meeting, city councilors advanced a new ordinance that would repeal the old one.
The vote was 4 to 3. Mayor Shay Lundvall, who voted against the ordinance in 2023 but allowed it to become law without his signature, supported the repeal Tuesday.
“I appreciate the comments, the emails, but I still stand by what I said before: I do not think we need this ordinance,” he said.
During public comment, which ran for about an hour, resident Laura Cox said the hate crime ordinance was unnecessary.
“I don't think having an ordinance is going to prevent any kind of crime,” she said. “We are not the sort of community that does this sort of thing on a regular basis. Not saying it never happens. I'm just saying that we're not a hateful community.”
But others, like teacher Amy Caldwell, said there were numerous examples of LGBTQ people, especially youth, being harassed and bullied.
“My child, my adult child, is transgender. They no longer live in this community because they did not feel safe to stay here and live and build a career,” Caldwell said. “That loss of trust didn't happen in a vacuum. It comes from real experiences of intimidation and silence.”
Amber Lewis, another resident, shared multiple stories of bigotry or harassment she and her family have received since moving to Gillette.
“One of my very first experiences in Gillette was going school shopping with my little 10-year-old girl and being attacked by four men who said I was too tall to be a real woman,” she said. “That was one of my very first experiences here.”
Lewis added that her child, as a teenager, was “bullied to the point where they almost lost their life” for their LGBTQ identity.
“This is happening in our community, and these people do need protections,” Lewis said. “And we need to send a loud and clear message that this kind of action will not be tolerated.”
The ordinance tacks on an additional misdemeanor when someone commits a violent crime and has targeted their victim based on their identity. It lists, as protected statuses, “race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, disability, or age.”
According to the Gillette News Record, the ordinance has not been used since its passage in 2023, though there have been five “inquiries” about its potential use.
Despite its non-use, other commenters argued it had created special classes and had caused “division.” They urged the councilors to repeal the ordinance.
“Even if it's well intentioned, we can look at other places and what it's led to, and it doesn't really do what it's intended to do, and ends up creating more division, causing more conflict,” said resident Ben Decker. “It maybe changes who’s discriminated against, but leads to more discrimination.”
But Councilor Heidi Gross said no one had shown any evidence of that new discrimination or of community division.
“I would love to hear of an example of an actual fact of division that was caused in our community because of this ordinance. I'd like to see some facts that support that,” she said. “[The other side] have given me examples of why we need to keep this ordinance in place, and I have heard not one single reason why we should repeal it.”
Gross added, echoing several of the commenters, that repealing the ordinance would be making a statement about what the city values and who is welcome there.
“I am very concerned about the message that this sends to our younger generations, to the people that are considering coming to Wyoming,” she said. “We are losing our young people in this state. Two out of three people in this state in their 20s will leave Wyoming. And I hear people say, ‘Oh, they'll come back.’ Some do, but most of them don't.”
Others connected the hate crime ordinance to other recent high-profile events in the community. Resident Dean Vomhof alleged the ordinance was passed in response to a controversy that embroiled the Campbell County Library two years ago.
Long-time Library Director Terri Lesley was removed from her position after refusing to remove LGBTQ+ books and becoming a lightning rod for both local ire and local support. Last month, the county agreed to pay her $700,000 to settle the lawsuit she brought against its officials.
Vomhof said the ordinance lets LGBTQ people “go to the front of the line” and complained about transgender people in bathrooms.
“Being lesbian or gay is your own choice. Why should you be treated better because of your sexual preference? Why should we put our wives, mothers, children at risk because some transvestite wants to invade their space in the bathroom or the locker rooms?” he said. “Let's treat everyone with respect.”
In Wyoming, it is now illegal for transgender people to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity in schools, libraries and other government facilities. But that law is enforced through complaints and lawsuits; a trans-led demonstration this summer in the State Capitol Building ended without punishment.
In addition to the bathroom ban, Wyoming has passed several laws restricting the privacy, healthcare and freedoms of transgender residents since 2023. At the same time, individual communities like Gillette have passed their own protections for LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups.
While every councilor who opposed the repeal spoke to their reasons during the Tuesday meeting, the councilors who voted in favor of repeal said less.
In addition to the mayor’s comments, Councilor Chris Smith said he was supporting the repeal because the people who elected him in 2024 asked him to during the campaign.
“I do have, being newly elected, the opportunity to speak on behalf of the residents I spoke to, and every single precinct that I walked,” he said. “And in every one of those precincts, this topic came up. And [in] every one of those conversations, Mr. Mayor, they were opposed.”
Smith suggested running a ballot initiative covering the same ground as the ordinance to gauge community interest.
The repeal will have to pass a second and third reading before it can take effect. That could happen as early as December.
