Gordon allows session’s fifth anti-trans bill to become law

The What is a Woman Act is a declaration of anti-trans beliefs about sex and gender. Gordon endorsed these beliefs, but said the bill scratches a “national political itch” and declined to sign it.

A rendition of the Great Seal of the State of Wyoming adorns the ground before the front doors of the State Capitol in Cheyenne. // Photo: Jeff Victor

The so-called “What is a Woman Act” is now state law in Wyoming, following Gov. Mark Gordon’s decision to allow the bill to pass without his signature.

The What is a Woman Act (originally assigned House Bill 32) enables the state and its agencies or subdivisions, like cities and counties, to “recognize or enforce distinctions between the sexes” when it comes to sports, prisons, crisis centers, locker rooms and restrooms.

It equates words typically referring to gender — such as “woman” — with words typically referring to sex — such as “female” — flattening the distinction between the concepts throughout state statute.

The new legislation defines “female” as:

a person who has, had, will have or would have had, but for a congenital anomaly or intentional or unintentional disruption, the reproductive system that at some point produces, transports and utilizes eggs for fertilization.

It defines “male” almost verbatim with “sperm” replacing “eggs.”

In a letter outlining his decision not to sign the legislation, Gordon writes the act suffers from a “lack of clarity” and “begs questions of necessity and issues of practical administration.”

“The Act does not provide clear direction on how it would improve current policies or enforcement, nor does it outline any specific issues it seeks to resolve,” the governor writes. “This lack of clarity risks creating confusion rather than strengthening existing safeguards. Nevertheless, a well-worn aphorism states, ‘If it’s worth doing, it’s certainly worth overdoing.’ Another comes to mind, ‘If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly.’ [The What is a Woman Act] does both.”

The bill’s sponsor, Casper Rep. Jayme Lien (HD-38), argued in committee that the legislation does not target transgender Wyomingites.

But members of the public who testified in the bill’s favor often spoke about wanting to counter “the transgender agenda.” Former representative Jeanette Ward, who sponsored an earlier iteration of the What is a Woman Act in 2024, said the bill was meant to push back on growing calls for transgender acceptance. She said those calls were being driven by the devil.

Opponents raised concerns about privacy.

The bill does not mandate “genital checkers” at bathroom doors, but some warned that anyone, even cisgender individuals, could be challenged about using a particular bathroom if they appear insufficiently feminine or masculine in the eyes of the challenger.

A single stall restroom in the University of Wyoming’s Ross Hall. Legislation passed this session requires restrooms meant for multiple occupants to be designated and protected as either male or female. // Photo: Jeff Victor

Transgender commenters argued, accurately, that they as trans individuals are more likely to experience violence in bathrooms, and in general, than cisgender women.

There is little evidence to support the claim that transgender people pose a threat to others in public restrooms, despite several studies examining the issue. As with claims about transgender advantage in women’s sports, anti-trans arguments rest largely on anecdotes or on the allegation that claims about safety or advantage are self-evidently true.

The What is a Woman Act passed out of its chamber of origin, the House, with a 50-9 vote.

Albany County’s Democrats — Rep. Ken Chestek (HD-13), Rep. Trey Sherwood (HD-14) and Rep. Karlee Provenza (HD-45) — were among those representatives who opposed the bill.

Albany County Rep. Ocean Andrew (HD-46), a member of the state’s right-wing Freedom Caucus, voted in favor.

The act enjoyed similar support in the Senate, which voted 28-3 to pass it. From Albany County, Sen. Chris Rothfuss (SD-9) voted against the act, while freshman Sen. Gary Crum (SD-10) voted for it.

The new law follows four other pieces of anti-trans legislation Gordon either signed or allowed to pass into law without his signature, including a collegiate sports ban, two bills segregating bathrooms and other public spaces, and a new law prohibiting government agencies from requiring employees to use any other employee’s preferred pronouns.

In his letter, Gordon touted his decision to sign some of these bills as evidence of his support for more direct anti-trans policies, saying he “fully support[s] efforts to uphold the integrity of biological distinctions and ensure privacy and fairness for Wyoming citizens.”

“However, I suspect this Act was not drafted with keen legal objectives in mind as much as it was to scratch a welcome national political itch,” Gordon writes.

The Freedom Caucus, whose known members were responsible for much of the anti-trans push this session, took immediate issue with Gordon’s framing of that push as kowtowing to national talking points.

“Yet again, @GovernorGordon refuses to sign a common sense bill, letting the What is a Woman Act take effect without his signature,” the official Wyoming Freedom Caucus profile states on X. “Wyoming women, including the women of the [University of Wyoming] [Kappa Kappa Gamma] sorority, are worth protecting, and doing so is not ‘scratching a national political itch.’”

Members of UW’s Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority chapter sued their national organization over the chapter’s inclusion of a transgender member. The plaintiffs lost the case and the appeal but could still amend the lawsuit and try again.

While that lawsuit — and related incidents — inflamed the debate about transgender rights in Wyoming, the What is a Woman Act did not originate in the Equality State.

The bill takes its name from an anti-trans documentary produced by the DailyWire, and its text closely mirrors the language found in similar bills across the country.

On the House floor, Lien said her bill’s definition of “female” is meant to match definitions being applied at the federal level by the Trump Administration.

“We want to make sure that we’re … very consistent with the laws that are coming above us and down,” she said. “And for [the courts] to have the opportunity to know where to start with something that is legally defensible for any litigation that may come up.”

The What is a Woman Act takes effect immediately. Much of the other anti-legislation passed this session takes effect in July.

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