Wyoming governor signs bill to bolster religious freedom protections

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 10, 2025 / 14:40 pm (CNA).

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, signed legislation late last week to bolster religious freedom from state-level rules and regulations.

The Wyoming Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which mirrors the federal law with the same name, prohibits the state government and local governments from enacting any policies that “substantially burden a person’s right to the exercise of religion” in most cases. It also creates a framework for people to sue government entities that violate this policy.

With the adoption of this law, Wyoming becomes the 29th state to enact these protections at the state level. Most Republicans in the state Legislature supported the bill, and Democrats were split on the legislation.

Under the bill, which goes into effect July 1, a “burden” is defined as any action that directly or indirectly “constrains, inhibits, curtails, or denies the exercise of religion.” A “burden” includes, but is not limited to, withholding benefits, assessing administrative penalties, exclusion from government programs, or the denial of access to government facilities.

This protection applies to all state and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, and policies even if they are already in place. It applies to rules that are generally applicable to the public, which grants more assurances for religious freedom exemptions when universal rules could threaten a person’s exercise of his or her religion.

According to the new law, the state or local governments could only substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion if the rule is “essential to further a compelling government interest” and “the least restrictive means of furthering that … interest.”

A person who believes his or her religious exercise has been substantially burdened or is likely to be substantially burdened can appeal to this law in administrative or judicial proceedings.

A spokesperson for the governor’s office told CNA the legislation “is a process-related bill that ensures every Wyomingite receives a fair hearing when the question arises as to whether the government is seeking to force that person to violate his or her religious beliefs.”

Greg Chafuen, senior counsel for the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom, said in a statement that the new law “provides a sensible balancing test for courts to use when reviewing government policies that infringe upon the religious freedom rights of Wyomingites.” 

“The law doesn’t determine who will win every disagreement, but it does ensure that every person — regardless of their religious creed or political power — receives a fair hearing when government action burdens a person’s freedom to live out his or her religious beliefs,” Chafuen said.

Chaufen praised the lawmakers who voted for the legislation and the governor for signing the bill, adding that “our laws should protect the freedom of every person to live and worship according to their faith.”

In 1993, then-President Bill Clinton signed the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law, which established these protections at the federal level. However, the federal law does not apply to state or local rules because the United States Supreme Court ruled that enforcement of this law on state or local rules was outside of Congress’ authority.

At the time, enacting the federal law was bipartisan. However, in recent years, Democrats in Congress have sought to scale back religious freedom exemptions, particularly when they apply to antidiscrimination laws regarding sexual orientation and transgenderism and health care laws when applied to abortion or transgender drugs and surgeries.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/262651/wyoming-governor-signs-bill-to-bolster-religious-freedom-protections