Jen Solis and Marcie Kindred on LCSD1 Book Ban Policies

Wyoming is a special place and Wyomingites are a unique people. From the Indigenous peoples here for thousands of years, to the descendants of pioneers here for generations, and all wanderers in between, we share a common feeling about the state we call home. When we stand humble beneath the endless sky, on a windswept plain, or in the shadow of a majestic mountain, something stirs in us that feels sacred.

We think this feels like freedom. Wyoming has spaces big enough to hold your entire self. Historically, Wyoming calls those disinterested in typical expectations of society. In Wyoming, success looks less like one’s ability to conform, and more like one’s ability to thrive in a harsh, often isolating climate. For those who love Wyoming, the hardships are a small price to pay for the freedoms we find.

A strong spirit of independence and autonomy drives most of this state's inhabitants. But that’s not to say Wyomingites don’t look after one another. Help always comes when it matters most and never feels like meddling, it feels like grace and reminds us why we call Wyoming home.

And all of this works because most Wyomingites tend to think the government should be as close to the people as possible, and should stay out of most aspects of our lives. 

These days, it feels like this ecosystem is shifting. While change is inevitable, communities across the state are growing increasingly concerned about what the future holds for this place we love.

A movement seeking to betray our limited government, live-and-let-live mentality has gained traction in recent years. It’s been Imported by a wave of so-called “blue state refugees” believing a move to the nation’s most conservative state means finding sanctuary for their bigotry. Far-right national political groups see Wyoming as an easy target to establish policies that silence marginalized voices and harm the LGBTQ+ community.

We’re seeing the effects of people who believe the government should be used to limit the rights of others gaining power. In the 2022 elections, Mom’s for Liberty (M4L) endorsed candidates took over the Laramie County School District #1 Board of Trustees.  While more reasonable candidates split the majority of votes, M4L Candidates  squeaked in on a platform of banning and censoring books they deemed to be “sexually explicit”. Their platform and strategy came directly from the  M4L playbook, written by their out-of-state political organization that knows nothing of Wyoming’s values.

After two years of brutal misinformation and vitriol about books, educators, and the LGBTQ+ community,  the board proposed changing the district’s Library policy from an opt-out system to a complicated opt-in policy that will burden educators, be difficult and costly to implement, censor books, worsen the exodus of educators, and open the district to costly litigation.

The Wyoming Family Alliance for Freedom and many others got to work asking the community to participate during the legally required 45 day comment period this fall. 1,500 people responded, the most the district has ever received on any policy proposal. When all of the comments were counted, the Wyoming Tribune Eagle reported a whopping 77% of responses opposed the change.

Legal experts, retired and current educators, veterans, clergy, parents, grandparents and ordinary folks from every walk of life asked the board to respect the expertise of our professional educators and to not infringe on student’s freedom to read. In an unprecedented step for a group that strives for neutrality, the Cheyenne Teachers Association voted unanimously to oppose the policy and urged the board to change course.

On the evening of the vote, the board room was filled beyond capacity. Proponents of the book banning policy were openly hostile, even heckling a 10th grader who spoke bravely about the censoring of targeted books.

Among many troubling public commenters was a local pastor who offered a prayer declaring that God designates marriage to be between one man and one woman and that anything else is an abomination based in sin. Book banning board members bowed their heads and joined his invocation. 

After 20 comments - 12 against the proposed policy, 8 in favor - in a blatant defiance of the will of the people they have a solemn duty to represent, the book banning trustees voted to change the policy, effectively banning and limiting access to books in Wyoming’s largest school district.

The effects of this policy are not contained to Laramie County. During LCSD1’s public comment period, before the board had even adopted the policy, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Megan Degenfelder, included Laramie County’s draft in statewide policy guidance released to all districts in Wyoming. This guidance provides a framework for districts to draft their own policies to limit and remove materials from their libraries. 

 Despite overwhelming community opposition, Degenfelder holds up LCSD1’s Library policy as an example for other districts to replicate.

The freedom to read freely is foundational to the American experience. While censorship attempts  are nothing new, we have never before seen such efforts succeed in Wyoming. As a people wanting the government to be kept as close to the individual as possible, we understand our pursuit of happiness is ours and ours alone. Until recently, that meant opposing any government regulation intended to restrict that for others, even those for whom the pursuit of happiness looks different than our own.  

The LCSD1 Library Policy has taught us a painful lesson: We can’t take our Wyoming Values for granted, not for one second.   Let us take those lessons and get to work  defending the Wyoming values we love.  Let’s show up with love when others bring hate to public conversations. Let’s ask our elected officials to speak up against those who want the government to dictate how we live and what we read, and then support them when they do. Let’s vote for those who don’t seek appeasement from anyone who’d restrict the rights of others, even if that means voting for someone in a party you do not want to be affiliated with. Let’s volunteer for campaigns, talk to our neighbors, read banned books, and do all we can to stand for the values that have made Wyoming a place so special and always worth fighting for.