Measure defining sex as binary advances in Montana
Emma White
HELENA (UM Legislative News Service) - The House gave preliminary approval Friday to a bill that would define sex as binary in Montana law after emotional testimony from lawmakers.
Senate Bill 437, which earlier passed in the Senate with a 31-18 vote, is one of a series of bills passed this session that proponents say are clarifying definitions under law, and opponents say are reducing the rights of the transgender community. SB 437 passed second reading with a 56-44 vote, and awaits a final vote before heading to the governor’s desk.
Rep. Neil Duram, R-Eureka, spoke in support of the bill, saying that while some human characteristics are mutable, sex is fixed.
“The issue about sex is not a spectrum issue,” Duram said. “Whether it offends you or not, it’s not a spectrum issue, it’s, it’s binary. It’s either or.”
Carrier of the bill, Rep. Lee Deming, R-Laurel, added that it is the legislature’s duty to provide clarity in definitions such as these.
“I do think that this really does come down to definitions, and that’s our job,” Deming said. “And I think some of these definitions are very important for the work that we do and the state that we all live in, both legal and medical issues.”
But Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, said these bills have come through the chamber before, and the concept of sex as a binary has been continually disproven by the medical professionals who come to testify. They added that the government should not define who people are.
“Two years ago, almost to the day I stood on this floor debating this bill, and I said that I thought Montana is big enough for all of us, big enough for the people who fit neatly into these convoluted definitions and big enough for those of us who don’t,” Howell said. “big enough, not just in acreage, but in character. Most days, I still believe that.”
Rep. Sherry Essmann, R-Billings, joined Howell in opposition. She said there are more pressing issues that the legislature should be spending its time on, such as property taxes and income taxes.
“This is another one of those bills,” Essmann said. “I didn’t have one single constituent say to me, go to Helena and redefine sex and redefine gender and make sure that you change every single section of our MCA that mentions anything regarding sex and gender.”