On July 13, 2026, the Libertarian Party of Wyoming posted the following statement on social media:
A quick reminder that the Wyoming Freedom Caucus voted twice to allow adults to have s** with children!
Why did Chip Neiman, John Bear, and the rest of the Freedom Caucus vote to allow adults to have legally protected s** with children?
The freedom caucus fought hard to protect their right to marry children of any age… why?
While you can say a lot of things about Chip Neiman and John Bear (and I’ve said many), in all fairness, I don’t think it is fair to say they voted to allow adults to have sex with children.
Rep. Neiman even prayed online for forgiveness for the people who would say such horrible things about him.
I think it important to know that I am supporting Bear and Neiman’s opponents to the best of my ability, Ogden Driskill for Senate and Doug Moore for House. An entirely Freedom Caucus controlled legislature led by Bear and Neiman would be a continuation of their frightening comedy of errors. Driskill and Moore are good men of discernment.
That being said, I don’t think it is fair or right for anyone to distort the record. So, what really happened with this bill in 2023?
In 2023, Representative Dan Zwonitzer proposed a bill (HB7) that would increase the age of marriage to eighteen years old. Persons 16 and 17 years old who have the permission of their parents or guardians could get married, as well.
Prior to that time the law allowed anyone 16 years of age or older to get married. Marriages under the age of 16 were voidable, but not void.
HB 7 passed. Those opposing the bill were a who’s who of Freedom Caucus members.
So, in a technical sense, under the old law 12- to 16-year-olds could marry. Voting against this bill which raises the age to 18 would “technically” only be a vote against raising the marriage age.
The problem is you have to read the rest of Wyoming’s statutes. Look at W.S. 6-2-315 to 318.
Wyoming does not have a blanket Romeo and Juliet exemption, although the degrees to build some ages-gap tiering. Statutory rape is still a crime. Even if the parties are married, sexual contact and full-on sex is a crime. And . . . there is no statute of limitations in Wyoming.
So, in Wyoming, if someone is 17 years or older, and more than 4 years older than the victim, then voluntary arousal of private parts is a felony. Full on sex is a higher felony.
If someone is 20 years or older and touches private parts with someone who is 16 or 17, and the victim is at least four years younger than the actor, and the actor occupies a position of authority over the victim, it’s a felony. Full on sex is a higher felony.
If someone is less than 16 years of age and touches private parts of a victim who is less than 13 years of age, and the victim is at least 3 years younger, it’s a felony. Full on sex is a higher felony.
Basically, the statute is the description of the old adage “16 will get you 20.”
Wyoming’s sexual abuse statutes are complicated and intricately worded. They cannot be fully described in a 750-word column.
But you get the point. No matter what the marriage statute says, it is still illegal in Wyoming to have sex with anyone under the age of 16, and under the age of 18 if you are not within four years of age.
So, voting against the underage marriage bill is not a vote to allow adults to have sex with children.
A vote against the underaged marriage bill is a vote to allow juveniles to get married. Under the old law, children of any age could get married with proper consent. The marriage was voidable, but possible. The newlyweds just could not have sex until age 16 or 18, depending on the age spread of the parties. (I wonder if anyone but me sees that technicality?)
Now, I have to tell you, I don’t really feel sorry for Bear or Neiman. While I despise all of the untruths that are floating around the state airwaves about candidates, a little turnabout is fair play.
The Freedom Caucus, under their leadership, sent out mailers last election saying that legislators voted to keep Trump off the ballot when no such vote occurred. I’ve been predicting that mailers will come out that certain legislators would be branded as child abusers and pornographers this legislative session.
I did not anticipate it being Bear and Neiman. But, if Freedom Caucus does send out dishonest mailers, the hypocrisy will be rich. And Neiman’s prayers are going to have to be extended to lots of other people.
Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2004 to 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House. He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com
