Montana is one step closer to passing 2021’s first transphobic law after a state House committee voted in favor of legislation targeting trans youth.
On Thursday, the House Judiciary Committee voted 11-8 to pass the so-called “Save Women’s Sports Act,” which would bar trans women and girls from participating on women’s school sports teams. Introduced by Montana state Rep. John Fuller (R-Kalispell), the legislation also provides “protection for educational institutions,” by preventing state agencies and regulatory bodies from bringing adverse legal action against schools that comply with the law.
While HB 112 does not specify consequences for non-compliant institutions, the proposal would allow students and schools who “suffer any direct or indirect harm” from trans inclusion to bring legal action against the supposed offenders.
Alongside HB 112, Fuller also introduced another bill targeting trans youth this year. Tabled on January 5, House Bill 113 seeks to restrict trans-affirming health care and would fine providers who offer treatments like hormone therapy, puberty blockers, or surgery to minors. The bill, known as the “Youth Health Protection Act,” has yet to receive a vote, but the Montana House Judiciary Committee will likely do so in the next few days.
The passage of HB 112 follows a heated Monday hearing during which critics and proponents of the two bills testified to the House Judiciary Committee. One proponent who provided testimony includes Idaho lawmaker Barbara Ehardt (R-Idaho Falls), who fought to pass a similar law in her state last March, HB 500, until its enactment was blocked by a district court ruling. “I submit to you that, if you don’t pass legislation such as this, that it will come to the day where there will be no room, no place, for women to compete,” said Ehardt, who misgendered trans women throughout her testimony.
Opponents of the legislation, including trans woman and former wrestler Zooey Zephyr, claimed that these bills are based on harmful myths and widely debunked pseudoscience. “Trans people do not transition to gain an advantage in sports,” she said in her testimony, according to the Montana Free Press. “We just don’t.”
Zephyr’s statement is backed by multiple studies, including a 2016 literature review of policies targeting trans athletes published in the academic journal Sports Med, which stated that there is “no direct or consistent research” suggesting that trans women have athletic advantages over cis women.
After passing the House Judiciary Committee, the bill will soon head to the House floor for further consideration. Both HB 112 and 113 could receive a full vote in the chambers as soon as Monday, according to advocacy groups.
Unsurprisingly, local and national LGBTQ+ organizations have widely condemned both pieces of legislation. In a statement to them., ACLU of Montana Executive Director Caitlin Borgmann claimed HB 112 “would be devastatingly harmful to trans youth, their peers, and entire school communities” and called the bill “unconscionable.”
“Trans youth deserve to be treated the same as their peers,” Borgmann said. “We know that when young people are supported by their families and communities, they thrive.”
The Center, Montana’s largest LGBTQ+ community organization, referred to HB 112 and HB 113 as “cruel and unjust, targeting the most vulnerable in our community,” while Lambda Legal called the bills “dangerous.” “Bills like Montana’s HB 112 and HB 113 are rooted in harmful stereotypes and misinformation about who transgender people are and have proven again and again to do more harm than good,” said Nora Huppert, a fellow with the national advocacy organization.
Meanwhile, Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, deputy executive director of the National Center for trans equality, noted that the timing of the effort is particularly hurtful to trans youth, as well as the larger community as a whole.
“Our country remains in the grip of a deadly global pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 people in the United States,” Heng-Lehtinen said in a statement to them. “The Montana legislature should focus on making lives better and protecting all students, including transgender student athletes, instead of targeting kids out of an attempt to score political points. And health care decisions should be between patients and their doctors, not politicians who ignore best medical practices.”
Should the Montana State Legislature approve HB 112 and it be signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte, it will go into effect on July 1. While the law would likely face a legal challenge, its enactment could be further complicated by an order signed by President Joe Biden Wednesday extending the Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 ruling on LGBTQ+ workplace discrimination to areas like federal housing and education.
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