Republican lawmakers in several states have resurrected and expanded the fight over whether transgender people may use bathrooms and other facilities that do not match their sex assigned at birth.
In the lawsuit filed by Two Spirit and intersex individuals, plaintiffs say that the Montana Legislature cuts them out of their constitutionally protected rights, and that Senate Bill 458 should be struck down.
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services announced it was once again instituting a policy that prohibits changing the sex marked on a person’s birth certificate in most cases.
Laws and policies, and statements used to justify them, reflect misconceptions and misinformation that conflate treatments and strip trans youth of essential care.
Jennifer savage writes, "I will never stop fighting for my kid and I will never stop fighting for all the other transgender, nonbinary and two spirit kids in Montana."
While the 2023 legislative sessions winds down and this year's crop of bills become law, the fallout from the GOP majority's banning of a Missoula transgender representative from the House floor is likely to sting for a while longer.
Gov. Greg Gianforte signed an amended version of Senate Bill 99 into law Friday, which bans certain forms of gender-affirming healthcare for children under the age of 18.