Senator Cynthia Lummis Receives Boos & Jeers at UW Commencement Speech
Written by Caleb Nelson on May 18, 2022
Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming), gave a commencement speech at the University of Wyoming where was introduced as the “first female Senator ever elected to represent the equality state.” Lummis was also booed by graduates for expressing views on science, biology, and the “existence of two sexes.”
US Senator Cynthia Lummis
Lummis grew up on a ranch outside of Cheyenne, and according to the UW’s 28th President, Dr. Edward Seidel, “Lummis has dedicated her career to defending Wyoming’s agriculture, mineral, and energy resources.”
Lummis began her career in the state House and Senate, and she went on to serve as state treasurer. She was an original member of the House Freedom Caucus.
Currently, Senator Lummis serves on the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and the Environment and Public Works Committee. Lummis has worked on issues related to land, energy, natural resources, and even cryptocurrency.
Lummis began her commencement speech at UW on Saturday by saying, “Congratulations to each of you on this wonderful Wyoming day. You look fabulous. I love the regalia, I love the bling.”
“Wyoming truly is a small town with long streets,” Lummis added. The crowd cheered for Lummis early in the address when she said, “the world needs more cowboys.”
The speech took on a more serious tone when Lummis argued, “There are those in government who believe not that the Creator endowed us with unalienable rights, as the founders of our nation acknowledged in the Declaration of Independence, but that government created those rights and that government should redefine those rights, including our rights to freedom of speech, religion, property, assembly, and to keep and bear arms.”
“Even fundamental scientific truths, such as the existence of two sexes, male and female, are subject to challenge these days,” Lummis remarked just before the crowd started booing and shouting.
There is scientific research demonstrating that as many as one in 100 people have intersex characteristics, a medical condition where a person’s chromosomes and anatomy have characteristics of both sexes.
As she continued her speech, Lummis also discussed artificial intelligence, digital currency, and individual rights and sovereignty in the information age. “Graduates, at no time since the 16th century has the world been in as disruptive, transformative times as you are now entering. The industrial age has given way to the information age.”
Ultimately, Lummis offered a statement of apology this Monday saying, “I share the fundamental belief that women and men are equal, but also acknowledge that there are biological differences and circumstances in which these differences need to be recognized.”
“That being said, it was never my intention to make anyone feel unwelcome or disrespected, and for that I apologize,” Lummis said.
