Gov. Gordon: Targeted Attacks on LGBTQ People and Anti-Semitism is Deeply Concerning and UnAmerican

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon recently took to social media to express his opinions on the recent targeted attacks on LGBTQ+ individuals, as well as the growing anti-Semitism that has been espoused by celebrities and others.

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Governor Gordon wrote on his Facebook page that "Targeted attacks on LGBTQ people and the increasing visibility of anti-Semitism in our country is both deeply concerning and unamerican."

Gordon then referenced the idea that Wyoming is the Equality State, which was the name given to Wyoming in 1869 when it was the first state to allow women to vote.

"As the Equality State, Wyoming is not - and should not be - a place where bigotry, discrimination, and anti-Semitism are tolerated," Gordon wrote. "The Wyoming Constitution speaks clearly and emphatically about civil rights and equality for 'all members of the human race.' Tolerance and understanding are essential to the health of our state and our nation."

Gordon's comments come just days after Wyoming's senators, Cynthia Lummis and John Barrasso, voted on whether to pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which would make same-sex and interracial marriage legal.

Lummis voted for the act, while Barrasso voted against it.

The bill passed the Senate, with a 61 to 36 vote. It will now go back to the House of Representatives because various changes were made to the Bill during it's passage in the Senate. After the House passes it, it will go to President Biden's desk for him to sign.

Senator Lummis took to the Senate floor before the passage, to speak about why she supports the bill, even though she personally believes that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

"My days since the first cloture vote on the Respect for Marriage Act as amended have involved a painful exercise in accepting admonishment and fairly brutal self-soul searching," Lummis said. "Entirely avoidable I might add had I simply chosen to vote no. The Bible teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman. I accept God's word...So why have I strayed with such anguish from a path that conforms to my beliefs, my instruction, my faith, to vote for the Respect for Marriage Act? The answer to that question lies in our history. In how we got here as a nation and as a people and in where we are as a nation and as a people today. In the 1600s, colonizers Roger Williams of Rhode Island and William Penn of Pennsylvania, cited scripture, and the Protestant reformers to defer to God as the judge of consciousness. Williams referred to religious liberty as liberty of the soul. The charter of the colony of Rhode Island required religious tolerance that all may freely have and enjoy his and their own judgments and consciences in matters of religious concernments. George Whitefield's groundbreaking message, without which this United States would have never come into being, emphasized an individual's personal relationship with God, where previously the individual deferred to the church. These became foundational for our current American approach to the relationship between church and state."

Read More: Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis Votes for Gay Marriage Bill

Lummis continued, stating that whether people agree with each other or not, tolerance is an important quality to have when interacting with each other.

"These are turbulent times for our nation," Lummis stated. "Americans address each other in more crude and cruel terms than ever in my lifetime. It is jarring and unbecoming of us as human beings. "It is highly intolerant and frequently the most so when expressed by those that advocate for tolerance. Many of us ask ourselves, our nation is so divided, when will this end, and how will it end? Just as when our nation was founded, when the new world tore itself from the old, people of diverse faiths, beliefs, and backgrounds had to come to terms with each other. Had to tolerate the seemingly intolerable about each other's views. And had to respect each other's rights, even before the constitution enumerated those rights. They had to tolerate each other in order to survive as a nation. Somehow, most certainly with divine guidance, they did. For the sake of our nation today and its survival, we do well by taking this step. Not by embracing or invalidating our devoutly held views, but by the simple act of tolerating them."

Senator Barrasso, however, voted against the bill. K2 Radio News previously reached out to Senator Barrasso, and received this response from the Senator's Press Secretary, Gaby Hurt.

"Senator Barrasso believes that marriage is between a man and a woman," she wrote. "That's the way he voted in the Wyoming State Senate and that's where he stands today."

Governor Gordon stands differently, based on his comments Monday.