Spotlighting Wyoming’s State Congressmen: Wyoming House Representative Pete IllowayMeg Lanker
Friday, August 28, 2009 2:54 PM MDT
Wyoming State House Representative Pete Illoway, R-Cheyenne believes it’s time for Wyoming to assert its sovereignty to the federal government granted under the Tenth Amendment.
“We don’t have much input in Washington compared to larger states, but we need to let the federal government know that we matter as a state,” Illoway said. “The federal government has run amok and I feel Wyoming should stand along with other states who believe the same as we do.”
Illoway authored a state sovereignty resolution similar to those passed in other states recently. The bill requests that Congress “cease and desist from enacting mandates that are beyond the scope of the enumerated powers granted to Congress by the Constitution of the United States.”
State sovereignty resolutions similar to the one drafted by Illoway gained popularity in recent years, particularly with conservative legislators who feel the federal government has expanded to the point of encroaching on individual states’ rights.
The resolution is non-binding but can be officially entered in the U.S. congressional record. Illoway said, “Sometimes resolutions work and sometimes they’re ignored, but we won’t know what will happen unless we make our views known.”
The resolution contains a paragraph naming specific federal laws that “constitutional authority for which is either absent or tenuous,” including the Real ID Act and the Endangered Species Act. Illoway said those specific laws were added by Governor Dave Freudenthal at the suggestion of Wyoming Attorney General Bruce Salzburg.
According to Illoway, Wyoming should not be entirely disconnected from the federal government. Wyoming received federal stimulus funding for infrastructure improvement projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
“The money WYDOT [Wyoming Department of Transportation] received went to shovel-ready projects which put Wyoming people to work,” said Illoway. “If Wyoming didn’t take the money, it would have gone somewhere else.”
Illoway was recently attacked by the Wyoming Patriot Alliance as not supporting sovereignty “because he believes in it.” The Wyoming Patriot Alliance's website describes the group as “concerned citizens that have banded together and want to hold Government (at all levels) accountable for their actions.” They also claim no allegiance to political parties and state: “We've adopted the 9 Principles and 12 Values from Glenn Beck's 9/12 Project because they are a great starting point.”
Illoway met with several individuals at the request of Janie White, a constituent of his who is a member of Wyoming Patriot Alliance and owner of the group’s website. According to Illoway, White told him they wished to discuss the state sovereignty resolution.
He said he told White and those present at the meeting his reasons for sponsoring the resolution but White abruptly switched gears into asking him to support a copy of the federal Defense of Marriage Amendment (DOMA) being inserted into Wyoming’s constitution.
Social conservatives in Wyoming have attempted to get the DOMA into the Wyoming constitution for many years. The latest effort in 2008 was House Joint Resolution 17 which failed on the House floor with 25 members voting “aye” and 35 members voting “nay.” Illoway voted against the bill.
The heavily-debated resolution read: “A Joint Resolution proposing to amend the Wyoming Constitution by creating a new section specifying that a marriage between a man and a woman shall be the only legal union that shall be valid or recognized in Wyoming” – fundamentally stating that Wyoming will not recognize same-sex marriages performed out of state.
Illoway said he had no warning White and the others wanted to discuss a DOMA resolution and characterized the meeting as “an absolute ambush.” Illoway said, “I was told we were there to discuss the state sovereignty resolution and nothing else. I feel these are two separate issues, and when I tried to explain this to Mrs. White, she became defensive.”
White wrote a post about the meeting on Wyoming Patriot Alliance’s website later. “He [Illoway] said he will NOT discuss marriage between one man and one woman because he doesn't believe in it,” she said.
Illoway said this assertion by White is false. He disagreed with HJ 17 because Wyoming already has a statute defining marriage as between a man and a woman – HJ 17 would add the extra piece of not recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
He also disputed the necessity of HJ 17 – Wyoming recognizes Common Law marriages from other states, so HJ 17 would single out one type of marriage for non-recognition. “We have a statute already that says marriage is between a man and a woman period – we don’t need to go any further. Gay people are people too. They have the right to exist like the rest of us,” Illoway said.
White also criticized Illoway as “pro-abortion” and said his “positions on abortion, gay marriage and other conservatives [sic] values did NOT coincide with the base.”
In a statement to The Underground, Illoway said he is not “pro-abortion” but is pro-choice. “I am pro-choice. I have been for years – this is nothing new,” he said. “No one is ever pro-abortion. Abortion is never something anyone wishes to happen.”
Illoway emailed White to clarify his positions on same-sex marriage and abortion. White pasted the email exchange below the original post about her meeting with Illoway. In the exchange White said, “If Ms. Lone and I believed I had mis-stated[sic] your comments, I would have been glad to retract but as you can see, and with the witnesses of that meeting, I have not and will not.”
On the Wyoming Patriot Alliance’s website, White said, “I don't have to work with Legislators and I definitely don't work for them, they work for me.”
Illoway disagrees with this notion and said the best way for constituents to get legislation passed is to work with legislators to reach common ground. “The town halls are a good example,” Illoway said. “It’s good for people to get involved, but nothing gets done by screaming at the people in office. There’s a level of respect needed.”
White did not respond to a request for comment from The Underground.
Illoway came to Wyoming in the early 1960s and was elected to the Wyoming State House to represent House District 42 in 1998. He previously served as the Vice President of Cheyenne LEADS (Cheyenne-Laramie County Corporation for Economic Development).
As the Wyoming legislature prepares to returns in 2010 to a rapidly changing economy, The Underground will put the spotlight on members of Wyoming’s House and Senate. Rep. Pete Illoway can be reached through his website, www.peteilloway.com
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