Casper Pride Offers Ways to Move Forward, Get Involved in Community
Amid a number of disheartening recent events in Wyoming, the Casper Pride organization has published a newsletter, offering ways to get involved in the community and move forward in positive ways.
"Wyoming has had a string of homophobic events recently and coming out of pride month, it’s a jarring reality of how much work we have to do," the newsletter wrote. "That's why we made a push to gather email addresses this year so that we could connect personally with you and mobilize our community to create change."
The newsletter began by highlighting some of the recent events that have occurred, including the assault of a trans woman and the fact that Natrona County High School had taken down pride posters that were hanging up at the school in June.
"Natrona County High School removed Pride posters in June and a group of parents are writing letters about this situation to support their LGBTQ kids," the newsletter said.
It then asked Pride supporters to "step in and lend a voice to the students." The parents asked that supporters write letters to the Natrona County School District Board of Trustees, and identified various key talking points, including:
- Students need to feel accepted and safe to be successful.
- LGBTQ issues are human rights issues, they're not political.
- The district needs training for teachers and administration, as well as policies in place regarding LGBTQ issues.
The newsletter also provided a list of the School District's Board of Trustees, and gave the mailing address for the school district.
The newsletter also acknowledged their goal of creating a 'Safe Place Program' in the community. Representatives from the LGBTQ+ community recently spoke at a Casper City Council meeting, and recommended that the city create an ordinance against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual preference. Video of the presentation can be seen below:
Casper Pride also announced some upcoming events the community can participate in, including a Zoom Webinar, hosted by Casper native and President of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, Justin Nelson. Nelso will be presenting with Dennis and Judy Shepard, the parents of slain UW student Matthew Shepard. The webinar is happening August 2nd, and you can register for it here.
Additionally, the Waller Hall Reserach organization is conducting a men's health study with the Wyoming Department of Health, in conjunction with Wyoming Equality. According to the newsletter, "This study is part of an effort to improve health resources for gay and bisexual men in the state. A ground-breaking survey, this is among the first of its kind for the state of Wyoming."
To participate, you can visit this website.
A lot is happening for the LGBTQ community in Casper. And despite recent events, such as a trans magician having to cancel a performance due to threats, there is a lot of positivity radiating throughout the community. Many people want to make Casper a safe place for everybody, regardless of color, creed, or sexual orientation. Casper Pride exists to make everybody feel included, and safe, and loved.