Wyo. Ballot Measure on Marriage?

Two Wyoming state lawmakers want voters to decide if the state should have constitutional authority to recognize same-sex marriages.

State senator Curt Meier (pictured) and state representative Owen Petersen said they will introduce a resolution in the legislature's 2011 general session to put the matter on the ballot, The Torrington Telegram of Wyoming reports. They said a voter-approved measure would clarify whether the state should accept same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

"We need to define Wyoming's community standard and give people the opportunity to vote," Meier told the Telegram. Two thirds of state legislators would have to approve the measure for it to go on the ballot in the next statewide election.

Wyoming has a statutory ban, but not a constitutional ban, on same-sex marriage. Two men filed a federal lawsuit in August challenging the state's ban, but the suit was dropped within a month, in the wake of news reports about one plaintiff's criminal history and doubts voiced by gay rights activists about the suit's timing.