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Better Wyoming is a communications and advocacy hub offering fresh alternatives to the stagnant ideas that have long dominated state politics. We educate, organize, and mobilize Wyoming residents to turn these possibilities into reality.

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One sitting Wyoming lawmaker has actually married a child, and another opposed HB-7 because he said the children in his district are "pretty mature."

Session recap: You gotta fight for your right … to marry children

March 17, 2023

Religious fundamentalists in the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and the Wyoming State GOP fought tooth and nail for the “freedom” to continue marrying children. Fortunately, this was one of many fights that they lost in 2023, as the Legislature passed its first law prohibiting marriage for children under 16.

Grassroots advocates and legislative healthcare champs celebrate with Governor Gordon

The winding road to Wyoming’s biggest healthcare access win in a decade

March 4, 2023

A bill to extend Medicaid coverage for uninsured new Wyoming moms faced opposition from the so-called “Freedom Caucus,” legislative leaders, and the Wyoming State GOP. But a coalition of healthcare access advocates and pro-life lawmakers pushed “Medicaid for Moms” all the way to the governor’s desk.

Why write your own bills when you can just copy them from Florida!?

“Florida Bills” (mostly) fail at the Wyoming Legislature

February 25, 2023

Wyoming and Florida are worlds apart by most standards. But a raft of bills inspired by laws in the Sunshine State have come forth during the 2023 session, as so-called “Freedom Caucus” members seek to fight Critical Race Theory, transgender athletes, and other non-issues in Wyoming.

No public money will be paid to private religious schools and no librarians will be arrested ... for now.

Lawmakers defeat bills targeting Wyo. public schools and libraries

February 18, 2023

Proposals brought by the so-called "Freedom Caucus" to divert public money to private and religious schools and to criminalize librarians for "obscene" books have all failed this session.

Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Sen. Tim Salazar are sponsors of abortion bans that won't hold up in court.

All the Wyo. Legislature’s unconstitutional abortion bans

February 10, 2023

Two bills poised to pass the Wyoming Legislature in 2023 double down on last year's "trigger ban" by adding further restrictions, including removing exceptions for incest and rape and banning pharmaceutical abortion. But both new laws will certainly be challenged in court and they likely will not stand.

Think you'll get to vote for the primary candidate of your choice? Think again!

Wyo Legislature once again looks to restrict primary voting

February 3, 2023

A Wyoming Senate Committee that has already killed one "crossover voting" ban during the 2023 legislative session is set to hear another—the last one standing. But party purists in years past have gone to great (and shady) lengths to restrict primary voting, so it's anyone's guess what will happen.

Under the proposed law, librarians could face one year in jail if prosecutors decide their collections contain "obscene" material.

Freedom Caucus bill would prosecute Wyoming librarians as child pornographers

January 28, 2023

The bill would remove protections for librarians against overzealous government censorship, opening them up to prosecution for child pornography and obscenity. Fortunately, some in Wyoming are fighting back against banning books and demonizing librarians.

Freedom Caucus members Jeanette Ward (Casper), Chip Neiman (Hulett), and Sarah Penn (Lander) are leading the effort to decrease health coverage for new Wyoming moms.

Will the Wyo. “Freedom Caucus” kill health coverage for new moms?

January 26, 2023

A bill to stop the rollback of Wyoming Medicaid coverage for uninsured new moms has broad support. Advocates for HB-4 say it will ensure the health and well-being of both mothers and their babies. But Freedom Caucus member Rep. Chip Neiman, who as House Majority Floor Leader can unilaterally kill any bill he wants, might not let it see the light of day.

A Casper woman encourages the government to respect her healthcare freedom.

Wyo. lawmakers propose first batch of post-Roe abortion laws

January 20, 2023

Two bills would follow last year’s “trigger ban” to further restrict reproductive rights, while a third would return Wyoming to its pre-2022 status quo.

Actual image of Wyoming lawmakers redrawing the state's election map

Save the politicians, screw the people: “Redistricting” showed the bald self interest that drives the Wyoming Legislature

March 18, 2022

Members of the public made clear their wishes for better representation during the Wyoming Legislature’s 2022 “redistricting” process. But in the end, the chaotic ordeal confirmed that most lawmakers’ number one priority is protecting their own political interests.

As anti-choice grassroots advocates have grown more powerful, the Supreme Court ruling has seemed like the only thing preventing abortion bans.

Wyoming Legislature passes law to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned

March 11, 2022

The Equality State will become the 13th in the nation with this kind of “trigger law,” which would put a ban into effect if the U.S. Supreme Court reverses its landmark reproductive rights decision.

Abortion bans don't end abortion. They just force women to find other means.

Wyoming edges toward banning abortion

March 4, 2022

A bill moving through the Wyoming Legislature would completely ban abortion in the state—even in cases of rape and incest—in the event that the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. Another would immediately outlaw “abortion pills,” which can be more readily accessible for Wyoming women unable to travel great distances to end a pregnancy. The progress of these bills demonstrates a radical shift over the past five years in the Legislature’s position on reproductive rights.

Senators Bo Biteman and Charlie Scott led the effort to derail the adults' work.

Wyoming Senate scraps “redistricting” plan in a reckless power play

March 2, 2022

County clerks, legislators, local officials, and members of the public worked for months to reach consensus on a new statewide election district map. On Tuesday, the Wyoming Senate voted to throw that plan in the trash and start from scratch with just seven days remaining in the 2022 legislative session. The Senate’s move is a last-ditch attempt to give outsized influence to rural areas that have lost residents over the past decade, while under-representing more urban areas like Cheyenne that have experienced population growth.

"What is this mess?"

Grassroots pushback prompts Wyo. lawmakers to think twice about splitting Southside Cheyenne’s vote

February 17, 2022

An amendment to the “redistricting” bill in the Wyoming House on Wednesday would have been a major setback for voting rights advocates for Southside Cheyenne. But Laramie County lawmakers responding to their constituents vowed to bring a fix on Thursday.

For God and Country, we want More Government!

We, The Government, are Wasteful, Fraudulent, and Abusive: Therefore we must GROW government and increase Waste, Fraud, and Abuse!

February 3, 2022

In a guest editorial, Wyoming's premiere legislators lay out their rationale behind Senate File 50, which would create a new branch of government to help inform on people accused of waste, fraud, and abuse.

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