The Wyoming legislature enacted a law protecting government employees from the state forcing them to use “preferred pronouns.” But Republican Gov. Mark Gordon refused to sign, allowing the bill to become law by default.
The law — SF 077, or “Compelled Speech Is Not Free Speech” — bans “the state and its political subdivisions from requiring the use of preferred pronouns.” It keeps the state from requiring preferred pronouns for “employment or contracting,” for “receiving a grant, loan, permit, contract, license or other benefit,” or “under threat of adverse action … including but not limited to an adverse employment action, exclusion, sanction or punishment.”
The bill passed with vast majorities 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.
Republican state House Speaker Chip Neiman and state Senate President Bo Biteman signed the enrolled act on Feb. 24. According to the state legislature website, “If any bill sent to the governor is not signed by him and is not returned within three days … it becomes law without his signature. …” Gordon wrote Biteman on Feb. 27 saying he would allow the bill to become law without signing it.
Gordon’s communications director, Michael Pearlman, shared the letter with The Federalist. In it, Gordon called the legislation “a solution in search of a problem.” He conceded that “Wyoming governments should not condition” employment or other engagements on “requirements to strictly engage in certain kinds of speech” and said that the state should not “retaliate against employees if they don’t conform to strict free speech restrictions.”
“Fortunately, to the best of my knowledge, Wyoming political subdivisions are not engaging in such practices, and any attempt to do so would likely face legal challenges,” Gordon wrote. “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.”
While Gordon said the law came from “good intent to prevent undue mandates on individuals’ freedom of speech” and passed with “overwhelming” majorities, he claimed the free speech protections could enable “a vastly expanded legal code” and “excess regulation.”
In the past, Gordon has also opposed other legislation aimed at radical gender ideology. Gordon removed a radiologist from the state board of medicine for opposing child gender mutilation, and he refused to sign a 2023 bill to prevent men who think they are women from competing in women’s sports, calling the measure “draconian.”
But conservative legal group Alliance Defending Freedom celebrated SF 077 as protecting “sincerely held beliefs.” The group commended the bill’s senate sponsor, Republican state Sen. Lynn Hutchings, and the state legislature for enacting the law.
In a statement, ADF Center for Public Policy Director Matt Sharp said, “No one should lose their job or face punishment at work for declining to say something they believe is false.”
“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,” Sharp continued. “Freedom of speech and religion includes the freedom not to endorse messages contrary to one’s core beliefs, and protecting these essential pillars of freedom benefits all of society.”
Logan Washburn is a staff writer covering election integrity. He is a spring 2025 fellow of The College Fix. He graduated from Hillsdale College, served as Christopher Rufo'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.