Editing Laramie, Wyoming (section)

===Late 20th century to present===
The city was covered by international media in 1998 after the murder of [[Matthew Shepard]], who was a gay student at the University of Wyoming. His murder generated an international outcry.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/195158.stm | publisher=BBC News | title=Americans mourn gay hate-crime victim | date=October 17, 1998}}</ref> It became the symbolic focus for a nationwide campaign against gay [[hate crime]]s. Federal hate crimes legislation was signed into law in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/columns/ci_13628360|title=Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Act passes Congress, finally|website=Mercurynews.com|access-date=January 9, 2018}}</ref> As of May 2023, Wyoming does not have a hate crimes law,<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 26, 2023 |title=A proposed hate crime ordinance draws strongly divided opinions from Gillette residents |url=https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/open-spaces/2023-05-26/a-proposed-hate-crime-ordinance-draws-strongly-divided-opinions-from-gillette-residents |access-date= |language=en-us}}</ref> having failed to pass its most recent attempt at a hate crimes law in March 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wyoming shelves hate crime law decades after Shepard's death |url=https://apnews.com/article/legislature-wyoming-legislation-hate-crimes-crime-48af2dad7b9fd2f480a469abd9168542 |website=AP NEWS |date=March 12, 2021 |language=en}}</ref> Shepard's murder was the subject of the award-winning play, later adapted as a movie, ''[[The Laramie Project]]''.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/17/arts/17iht-laramie.1.16232258.html Matthew Shepard and Laramie: A crime that lingers], ''[[The New York Times]]'', Retrieved on January 22, 2011.</ref>

In 2004, Laramie became the first city in Wyoming to pass a law to prohibit smoking in enclosed workplaces, including bars, restaurants and private clubs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=correspondent |first=W. Dale Nelson Star-Tribune |date=November 4, 2004 |title=Laramie approves smoking ban |url=https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/laramie-approves-smoking-ban/article_2380808a-2ede-51c3-8a89-8f565330113d.html |access-date=February 13, 2024 |website=Casper Star-Tribune |language=en}}</ref> Opponents of the clean indoor air [[Local ordinance|ordinance]], funded in part by the [[R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company]], immediately petitioned to have the ordinance repealed. However, the voters upheld the ordinance in a citywide [[referendum]] which was conducted concurrently with the 2004 general election. The opponents challenged the validity of the election in court, claiming various irregularities. The judge ruled that the opponents had failed to meet their burden of showing significant problems with the election, and the ordinance, which had become effective in April 2005, remained in effect.<ref>[http://www.uwyo.edu/news/showrelease.asp?id=10864 Laramie Smoking Ban Subject of Television Program Tuesday"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071231152744/http://www.uwyo.edu/news/showrelease.asp?id=10864 |date=December 31, 2007 }} University of Wyoming news release, October 16, 2006. Retrieved on August 10, 2007.</ref> In August 2005, Laramie's City Council defeated an attempt to amend the ordinance to allow smoking in bars and private clubs.<br />
{{wide image|WY 1908 St. scene, Laramie.jpg|1000px|alt=Laramie, 1908|Laramie, 1908}}