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Casper gay marriage rally planned in anticipation of Supreme Court hearing

Wyoming gay marriage supporters are holding a rally in anticipation of the Supreme Court’s hearings on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, and Proposition eight that repealed a gay marriage law in California. 

This Sunday at noon, people from across the state are invited to don red clothing and gather in Casper’s Pioneer Park to rally for marriage equality and the repeal of both the DOMA, and Proposition 8.

Organizer Pamela Kandt says a broad, loose-knit coalition of Facebook friends active in Wyoming’s fight to allow gay marriage and domestic partnerships in Wyoming have decided to put on the rally in anticipation of the national hearings next week.

“As for doing this in Wyoming, I think that number one, you can never be silent about injustice, regardless of where you are,” says Kandt, “The other is that I really believe that most importantly, the gay and lesbian members of our community need to see the rest of us stand up and say ‘We are with you.’”

Kandt says she’s seen a radical shift in opinion in Wyoming, citing two narrowly defeated bills in the state legislature last session.

“I am a married woman, I don’t have children, I don’t supposedly have a vested interested in this issue. But I do, because I love the people in my community and I love freedom. It’s just a matter of my own personal patriotism,” says Kandt.

A poll by the Washington Post last week reports that 58% of Americans support gay marriage, and a Pew survey last November shows 51% of residents in the Mountain West favor it.

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