CHEYENNE - The stakes were high in 1999 as the Wyoming Legislature commenced debate on a hate crime bill in the wake of the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard.

State lawmakers for the first time were being forced to consider a bill that addressed the issue of sexual orientation, and they were doing it under the scrutiny of the national and international news media.

The result was a "bitter floor debate of high emotions," recalled Sen. Mike Massie, a Democrat who supported the bill and counted Shepard as a constituent in his Senate district in Laramie.

The bill failed narrowly, and the issue has never again reached the floor of either chamber for debate.

Wyoming remains one of a handful of states with no hate crime law on the books that extends to sexual orientation.

Supporters of the legislation, including members of Shepard's family, continue to criticize the vote, which they call a blemish on the heritage of the Equality State.

"It is disappointing that the Wyoming Legislature didn't take a positive stand on hate crime in 1999 when they could have sent a message to the rest of the world about how Wyomingites truly feel about hate," Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard's mother, said in a recent statement.

"I think if they had acted during the 1999 session, the shadow that hangs over the state would not exist,' she added.

But opponents of hate crimes laws continue to insist that existing statues are sufficient to prosecute crimes, and that judges already have digression in many cases to enhance penalties when they see fit.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal, a Democrat and former federal prosecutor who opposes hate crime laws, said recently that he's not bothered by the negative label Wyoming has received in some circles as a result of the failed legislation.

"I know that a lot of people like to say, 'Well, you haven't passed this,' or 'You haven't passed that,' therefore you are bad," Freudenthal said. "I think that I'm not prepared to yield up what's right or wrong for the people of Wyoming based on whether, frankly, the New York Times or (conservative commentator Bill) O'Reilly or any the rest of them approve of it."

Debate escalates

Interestingly, the debate over hate crimes legislation in Wyoming preceded Shepard's death; hate crime bills began appearing in the early 1990s.

The late Rep. Harry Tipton, R-Lander, sponsored two of the first, but they failed to reached the floor for debate.

Massie introduced a biased crimes bill in the Senate during the 1998 budget session, but it failed to get the two-thirds vote required for introduction.

By the time Shepard's murder helped force the bill to the House floor for a debate, battle lines were well drawn.

Opponents of the bill argued that existing laws were sufficient. Some also said the state shouldn't get into the business of imposing enhanced penalties.

Supporters, meanwhile, argued that the state needed to send a strong message to those who would target homosexuals, and noted that some other western states had used their biased crimes laws to fight off hate groups.

They also noted that some Wyoming laws already include enhanced penalties based on race and other characteristics.

The real issues, Massie said, was that state lawmakers were being forced to addressed sexual orientation - and tempers flared.

Many law enforcement professionals and some prosecutors supported the bill, arguing that it would give them a new tool for crime fighting. Church groups were divided on the legislation.

Sen. Charlie Scott, R-Casper, who voted against the bill, said he was never convinced that hate was a primary motivator in Shepard's killing. The level of violence in the attack to him indicated that something more was at work, like drugs.

"What they did to him is not something that any rational human being would do to another, and it's the kind of behavior you can get out of people who have gotten into' methamphetamine, Scott said.

Efforts continued

Former state Rep. Ann Robinson, D-Casper, a supporter of the legislation, said many lawmakers during the debate misunderstood the scope of the bill.

The bill also was hurt, Robinson said, by the somewhat invalid argument that existing Wyoming law already covers crimes such as murder and vandalism, and that enhancements for hate crimes aren't necessary.

The intent of the bill, she said, was to send a message that crimes that put certain groups of people in fear would not be tolerated. Existing laws don't do that, she said.

"That was where the legislation was really coming from was at crimes that would put the community at fear or a group of people at fear," Robinson added.

The bill died on a 30-30 vote.

Massie said a bitter rebuke in the national press helped assure that the bill would not be resurrected in the Senate during the same session.

Despite the bitter defeat, supporters of the bill continued to push the issue.

The Wyoming Legislature again considered a biased crimes bill during 2000 budget session. That bill, by Sen. Jayne Mockler, D-Cheyenne, failed to receive enough votes for introduction.

After that, supporters of the legislation decided to halt their efforts temporarily.

They worried that the constant pressure might create a backlash that would prevent discussions one other issues related to homosexuality, such as fair employment, fair housing or the recognition of civil unions from other states, Massie said.

"So we backed off intentionally for a couple of years," Massie said.

The strategy seems to be working. In 2007, a House committee narrowly killed a bill that would have barred Wyoming from recognizing gay marriages from other states. The state already has a statute that says marriage must be between a man and a woman.

Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, one of the youngest members of the Legislature at that time at 28, received some national recognition after he told the committee that, "This is the civil rights struggle of my generation."

Debate ongoing

Lawmakers in other states have been more willing than Wyoming to endorse hate crimes laws.

More than 30 states have enacted laws that address hate or biased crimes based on sexual orientation.

Nearly all of the laws were passed soon after Shepard's death, according to records from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lobbying group.

"It's really clear that (Shepard's death) was just a seminal event in pushing hate crimes and the need for legislation to the forefront," said Christina Finch, senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign.

Shepard's murder also helped spur an ongoing debate over a federal hate crimes bill, Finch said.

That legislation would update civil rights-era hate crime laws to include gender identity, sexual orientation and disabilities, she said.

It would also allow federal and state agencies to work together and share resources in investigating and prosecuting hate crimes.

The legislation, known in the Senate as the Matthew Shepard Local Law Enforcement Hate Prevention Act, is unlikely to gain traction in this Congress, Finch said, but could become law soon if Democrats stay in power.

Wyoming's congressional representatives have not been supportive of efforts to expand hate crime legislation to include sexual orientation, records show.

Despite the lack of a biased crimes law in Wyoming, Massie said progress has been made.

Communities are more sensitive in dealing with issues of homosexuality and gay marriage, and both topics are discussed more openly, he said. The gay and lesbian community is also more visible.

"I don't think we were in the Dark Ages to start with, but I think we have progressed toward more tolerance with this issue, and it has not been necessary to have a biased crime bill to do that," Massie said.

"I think it would have helped, but it hasn't been the necessary ingredient to make that happen."

Contact capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or jared.miller@trib.com