{"id":2408051,"date":"2025-02-28T16:08:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-28T21:08:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wy-shields-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns\/"},"modified":"2025-02-28T16:11:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-28T21:11:22","slug":"wy-shields-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wy-shields-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns\/","title":{"rendered":"WY Shields Employees From Coerced Use Of \u2018Preferred Pronouns\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwy-shields-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2408051&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The Wyoming legislature recently passed a law, known as SF 077 \u2062or &#8220;Compelled Speech Is\u200c Not Free \u2064Speech,&#8221; which \u2063protects state employees from being coerced into using &#8220;preferred pronouns.&#8221; Despite Republican Governor Mark GordonS refusal to sign the bill, it became law by default as he did \u200cnot return it within the designated time\u200c frame.The law prohibits the state from making the use\u2064 of preferred pronouns\u200c a requirement for\u2062 employment or benefits, and it passed with overwhelming support in \u2063both the House and Senate.<\/p>\n<p>Gordon expressed concerns about the necessity of\u2064 the legislation,\u2064 suggesting it addresses a problem\u200d that does not exist in Wyoming, as there\u200d are no known instances of government forcing employees to use specific pronouns.While\u2063 acknowledging the law&#8217;s intent to safeguard \u2062free speech, he warned\u200b that \u2064it could\u200c lead to overregulation and unnecessary\u200c legal complications.\u2063 The law is set to take effect on July 1,and has been celebrated by conservative\u2064 groups like Alliance Defending Freedom,which views it as a victory for personal beliefs and free \u2064speech.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Wyoming_Governor_Mark_Gordon_2019.jpg\">MikesGroover\/Wikimedia Commons<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/deed.en\">CC BY-SA 4.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/28\/wyoming-protects-state-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns-despite-governors-refusal-to-sign\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Wyoming%20Protects%20State%20Employees%20From%20Coerced%20Use%20Of%20%E2%80%98Preferred%20Pronouns,%E2%80%99%20Despite%20Governor%E2%80%99s%20Refusal%20To%20Sign&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/28\/wyoming-protects-state-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns-despite-governors-refusal-to-sign\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Wyoming%20Protects%20State%20Employees%20From%20Coerced%20Use%20Of%20%E2%80%98Preferred%20Pronouns,%E2%80%99%20Despite%20Governor%E2%80%99s%20Refusal%20To%20Sign&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/28\/wyoming-protects-state-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns-despite-governors-refusal-to-sign\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/28\/wyoming-protects-state-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns-despite-governors-refusal-to-sign\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Wyoming%20Protects%20State%20Employees%20From%20Coerced%20Use%20Of%20%E2%80%98Preferred%20Pronouns,%E2%80%99%20Despite%20Governor%E2%80%99s%20Refusal%20To%20Sign&amp;body=Gov.%20Mark%20Gordon%20claimed%20the%20law%20could%20enable%20'vastly%20expanded%20legal%20code,'%20but%20a%20constitutional%20law%20group%20said%20it%20was%20a%20free%20speech%20victory.%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/28\/wyoming-protects-state-employees-from-coerced-use-of-preferred-pronouns-despite-governors-refusal-to-sign\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>The Wyoming legislature enacted a law protecting government employees from the state forcing them to use &ldquo;preferred pronouns.&rdquo; But Republican Gov. Mark Gordon refused to sign, allowing the bill to become law by default.<\/p>\n<p>The law &mdash; SF 077, or &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyoleg.gov\/Legislation\/2025\/SF0077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Compelled Speech Is Not Free Speech<\/a>&rdquo; &mdash; bans &ldquo;the state and its political subdivisions from requiring the use of preferred pronouns.&rdquo; It keeps the state from requiring preferred pronouns for &ldquo;employment or contracting,&rdquo; for &ldquo;receiving a grant, loan, permit, contract, license or other benefit,&rdquo; or &ldquo;under threat of adverse action &hellip; including but not limited to an adverse employment action, exclusion, sanction or punishment.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-872810606\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The bill passed with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyoleg.gov\/Legislation\/2025\/SF0077\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vast majorities<\/a> earlier this month in the state House (54-7, with one excused) and Senate (27-3, with one excused). It is set to take effect on July 1.<\/p>\n<p>Republican state House Speaker Chip Neiman and state Senate President Bo Biteman signed the enrolled act on Feb. 24. According to the state legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/wyoleg.gov\/docs\/MANLEPRO.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">website<\/a>, &ldquo;If any bill sent to the governor is not signed by him and is not returned within three days &hellip; it becomes law without his signature. &hellip;&rdquo; Gordon wrote Biteman on Feb. 27 saying he would allow the bill to become law without signing it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Gordon&rsquo;s communications director, Michael Pearlman, shared the letter with The Federalist. In it, Gordon called the legislation &ldquo;a solution in search of a problem.&rdquo; He conceded that &ldquo;Wyoming governments should not condition&rdquo; employment or other engagements on &ldquo;requirements to strictly engage in certain kinds of speech&rdquo; and said that the state should not &ldquo;retaliate against employees if they don&rsquo;t conform to strict free speech restrictions.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Fortunately, to the best of my knowledge, Wyoming political subdivisions are not engaging in such practices, and any attempt to do so would likely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/texas-state-legislature-passes-fetal-heartbeat-abortion-bill\/\" title=\"Texas ... legislature passes fetal heartbeat abortion ...\">face legal challenges<\/a>,&rdquo; Gordon wrote. &ldquo;I must conclude that this bill, rather than addressing an urgent policy concern, is instead meant to convey a public perspective on gender and the use of preferred pronouns.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While Gordon said the law came from &ldquo;good intent to prevent undue mandates on individuals&rsquo; freedom of speech&rdquo; and passed with &ldquo;overwhelming&rdquo; majorities, he claimed the free speech protections could enable &ldquo;a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">vastly expanded legal code&#038;rdquo<\/a>; and &ldquo;excess regulation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the past, Gordon has also opposed other legislation aimed at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-the-fight-against-critical-race-theory-has-only-just-begun\/\" title=\"GOP: The Fight Against Critical Race Theory Has Only Just Begun\">radical gender ideology<\/a>. Gordon&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/10\/08\/wyoming-gop-gov-removes-doctor-from-state-board-for-opposing-transing-children\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">removed<\/a>&nbsp;a radiologist from the state board of medicine for opposing child gender mutilation, and he refused to sign a 2023 bill to prevent&nbsp;men who think they are women from competing in women&rsquo;s sports, calling the measure &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2724936\/wyoming-governor-refuses-to-sign-draconian-bill-barring-biological-males-from-womens-sports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">draconian<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom <a href=\"https:\/\/adfmedia.org\/press-release\/wy-legislature-enacts-bill-protect-speech-teachers-and-public-servants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">celebrated<\/a> SF 077 as protecting &ldquo;sincerely held beliefs.&rdquo; The group commended the bill&rsquo;s senate sponsor, Republican state Sen. Lynn Hutchings, and the state legislature for enacting the law.<\/p>\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/adfmedia.org\/press-release\/wy-legislature-enacts-bill-protect-speech-teachers-and-public-servants\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>, ADF Center for Public Policy Director Matt Sharp said, &ldquo;No one should lose their job or face punishment at work for declining to say something they believe is false.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In no world is it acceptable for the government to force good educators or other public servants out of a job all for the sake of promoting gender ideology. With this legislation, Wyoming is rightfully stepping into the gap to protect freedom of conscience,&rdquo; Sharp continued. &ldquo;Freedom of speech and religion includes the freedom not to endorse messages contrary to one&rsquo;s core beliefs, and protecting these essential pillars of freedom benefits all of society.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Logan Washburn is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lawsuit-clark-county-keeps-commercial-addresses-on-voter-rolls\/\" title=\"...suit: Clark County Keeps Commercial Addresses On Voter Rolls\">staff writer covering election integrity<\/a>. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo&#8217;s editorial assistant, and has bylines in The Wall Street Journal, The Tennessean, and The Daily Caller. Logan is from Central Oregon but now lives in rural Michigan.<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Logan Washburn<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/logan-washburn\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alliance-defending-freedom\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alliance Defending Freedom<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/free-speech\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">free speech<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gender-ideology\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">gender ideology<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/gov-mark-gordon\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Gov. Mark Gordon<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/legislation\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">legislation<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/preferred-pronouns\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">preferred pronouns<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/pronouns\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">pronouns<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/republican\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Republican<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/trans-insanity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">trans insanity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/transgenderism\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">transgenderism<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/wyoming\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Wyoming<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Wyoming legislature passed a law preventing the state from mandating government employees to use &#8220;preferred pronouns,&#8221; but Republican Gov. Mark Gordon did not sign it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":507,"featured_media":2408052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/WyomingGovernor_Mark_Gordon.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[51327,38199,51328,51326],"class_list":["post-2408051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-coerced-use","tag-employee-rights","tag-preferred-pronouns","tag-wy-shields"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/WyomingGovernor_Mark_Gordon.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2408051","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/507"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2408051"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2408051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2408055,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2408051\/revisions\/2408055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2408052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2408051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2408051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2408051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}