gender

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.

Isabel Shaida writes, "People in power are turning a blind eye to not only my future but the future of their own children."

Gov. Gianforte’s amendments to the bill include clarifying that anyone deemed “female” has XX chromosomes and produces eggs and people defined as “male” have XY chromosomes and produce sperm.

Legislative Democrats want Oregon voters to amend the state constitution so equal rights protections include sexual orientation, gender identity or health decisions related to pregnancy.

At the Montana State Capitol, advocates organized drag performances, as a protest against a bill moving forward in the state Legislature that would limit where those performances can be held.

A bill that would protect kids from getting in trouble at school if they refer to a transgender peer by their sex assigned at birth or by the wrong name passed the Senate Friday.

Opponents of the measure have said the bill ignores the variation in humans, including LGBTQIA members who would be effectively wiped from legal existence if the law is passed.

Three Republicans – Sens. Greg Frazer of Deer Lodge, Mike Hopkins of Missoula, and Tom Welch of Dillon – joined 32 Democrats in voting against the bill, which passed a crucial second reading 65-35.

Sens. Jen Gross and Susan Webber write, "Instead of taking seriously the trauma and damage inflicted on so many Montanans, Republicans chose to proceed with this bill that targets one community, making them less before the law."