Montana’s Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a ban on transgender people using restrooms in public buildings that do not match their assigned gender at birth, a change that would complicate the daily lives of two fellow lawmakers.
The endorsement comes a month after Montana lawmakers rejected a narrower rule that would have kept transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr out of women’s restrooms at the Capitol after she returned from exile as a lawmaker.
Zephyr and non-binary Rep. SJ Howell implored their GOP colleagues to reject the proposal and stop calling transgender people a threat to women without evidence to support the claim.
Variations of bathroom bans already exist in a dozen other states, many of which target school facilities. Even more states, including Montana, have passed laws to ban gender-affirming health care for trans youth and bar trans girls from girls’ sports.
“Transsexuals are already walking around the state of Montana in fear,” Zephyr said. “Leave trans people alone. Let me be the woman I want to be. Let me live my life.”
Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, a Republican who supports the bill, emphasized that it is not intended to be exclusionary but to preserve unthreatening spaces for women.
“Women shouldn’t have to sacrifice their privacy or security because of cultural trends,” she said.
Republicans prevailed over sturdy Democratic opposition by a vote of 58-42 and pushed the bill through. The measure still needs a final vote in the House of Representatives before being sent to the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Under the law, transgender people are not allowed to utilize restrooms, locker rooms, and sleeping areas that correspond to their gender identity in public buildings, schools, prisons, jails, and programs for victims of domestic violence.
People could sue a facility for failing to prevent transgender people from using a restroom or locker room consistent with their general identity. However, they could only recover minor damages, typically $1. However, the company could be required to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees.
