Dear Editor,

When did Wyoming start referring to itself as the Cowboy State instead of the Equality State? Those two nicknames evoke very different identities and self-images.

Cowboys bring to mind the wild, wild west with each person a law unto themselves, fighting alone for survival against the elements and resentful of any attempts by government to limit their activity.

The Equality State, however, evokes a much different world, one where people rely on each other, no matter what color, religion, or sexual orientation, for mutual benefit.

This credo is the one that actually built our fine state. We have, from our founding, relied on the federal government and each other. Wyoming was just the desolate Indian country people had to traverse to get to the promised land of the west coast. The federal government built forts to protect people, sent surveyors to map the land, gave people the opportunity to own land, then built dams and canals to bring life-giving water to it.

Homesteaders worked together to build lives in this desert mindful only of the character of people, nothing more.

We were proud to be the first in the nation to recognize the right of women to vote and proudly wore the title of The Equality State.

We quickly failed that proud ideal, though. We segregated our schools; white miners murdered Chinese workers.

We failed to learn the lesson when Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered a mere 20 years ago because folks who don’t fit the “normal” sexuality are still ostracized, ridiculed (even by a US Senator) and can be fired or refused housing just for being themselves.

Citizens in our communities who can claim multiple generation Wyoming citizenship face daily discrimination today because of the color of their skin.

Although I am proud to be a citizen of Wyoming, one of a very diverse citizenry, the University of Wyoming football team ‘guy on a bronco’ logo does not define me.

I am a member of a community that pulls together and works for equality for everyone as symbolized by the Great Seal of our state.

Wyoming ranked among the lowest in the nation in the 2017 Human Rights Campaign ranking. We have a long way to go to live up to being, truly, The Equality State.

Marci Shaver

Torrington, WY