After coming out as trans in December, actor Elliot Page is speaking out against two potentially harmful bills targeting transgender teens in Montana. Page urged members of the Montana State Legislature to vote “no” on two upcoming bills which, if passed, would have an overwhelmingly negative effect on transgender youth in the state.
“Dear #MTLeg,” Page tweeted, “please vote no on HB 112 and HB 113. These bills harm trans youth and hurt all of us. Join the fight to protect trans youth.”
Page also linked to an ACLU petition against the two bills in question.
As them. previously reported, House Bill 112 would prevent trans girls and women from participating in school sports teams in accordance with their gender identity — similar to a bill signed into law in Idaho last year. House Bill 113, meanwhile, would prevent medical professionals from providing transgender minors under the age of 18 with gender-affirming care, whether hormones, surgery, or puberty blockers.
Both bills are sponsored by Montana state Rep. John Fuller (R-Whitefish), who has nicknamed HB 112 the “Save Women’s Sports Act.” Fuller, a former women’s soccer coach, has claimed that allowing trans girls to compete in women’s athletics violates federal civil rights laws and that gender-affirming surgeries are “morally wrong.”
Should HB 113 be approved by Montana’s Republican governor, Greg Gianforte, doctors who provide gender-confirming care to minors would potentially be slapped with a fine of $500 to $50,000.
A hearing on Montana’s anti-trans bills, which are opposed by over 150 national and local businesses, is slated for Wednesday. Since Republicans currently have control over both houses of the legislature and have until April to decide, trans activists have been sending emails to local lawmakers explaining the potentially harmful effect on trans youth. Advocacy groups warn that nearly a dozen pieces of legislation identical to Montana’s have already been filed in states across the country this year.
ACLU staff attorney Chase Strangio tweeted out a call to action on January 12, asking for help with phone banking and in raising awareness regarding the coming onslaught of attacks. Page retweeted the post, along with a thread about the harmful bills originally created by actress Piper Perabo.
Ahead of what is likely to be a brutal fight to uphold the dignity and safety of trans people in 2021, the issue is far from Page’s first foray into trans activism. After his December coming out attracted international attention, Page asked his followers to donate to two trans-specific charities: the national crisis resource Trans Lifeline and TranSanta, a gift drive for trans kids co-founded by Pose actor Indya Moore last year.
“My joy is real, but it is also fragile,” Page wrote in his coming-out letter while reflecting on the challenges that face trans people. He went on to say that he hopes to use his platform to change “the world for the better.”
With his tweet about Montana’s transphobic bills receiving 9,700 likes and 1,300 retweets at the time of publication, Page’s continued advocacy feels like a solid step in that direction.
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