For the third time in a week, Montana governor Greg Gianforte has passed a law permitting discrimination against the state’s LGBTQ+ community.
On Friday, the Republican lawmaker signed House Bill 112, which mandates that participation in school sports at the K-12 and college level must be “based on biological sex.” Similar to more than 60 bills introduced in state legislatures across the country this year, HB 112 goes onto explicitly ban trans female student athetes from competing in alignment with their gender identity, stating that women’s sports “may not be open to students of the male sex.”
But facing fears that the Biden administration could bring a lawsuit against the state or deny federal funding to Montana, HB 112 includes a clause that would render the law null and void if the federal government finds it to be in violation of national sex discrimination statutes.
HB 112 was sent to Gianforte’s desk last Monday after passing the State House and Senate in April — squeaking through the latter by an extremely slim four-vote margin. He was expected to sign the legislation after approving a bill making it more difficult for trans people to correct their birth certificates the previous Friday and allowing parents to opt students out of LGBTQ+ education on the very same day HB 112 was enacted. (He signed a 4th bill that could be used to target queer and trans people on the basis of faith in April.)
But curiously, Gianforte did not publicize his approval of SB 112 as he had previous legislation. His office has not released a statement or held a press conference to announce the bill’s enactment, and local media only knew that it was greenlit when its status was updated on the Montana State Legislature’s website, according to the Montana Free Press.
Gianforte’s quiet thumbs-up makes Montana the 6th state to pass a law in 2021 seeking to limit the participation of transgender youth in student athletics. Other states to enact similar legislation include Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia. In neighboring South Dakota, its Republican governor, Kristi Noem, signed an order directing the state’s Department of Education and Board of Regents to develop a policy banning trans athletes from participating in accordance with their sense of self.
Advocacy groups in Montana slammed the governor’s decision. The Montana Human Rights Network (MHRN), which joined civil rights organizations like ACLU of Montana and the Montana Gender Alliance in opposing this year’s slate of discrimination legislation, called HB 112 a “unnecessary and harmful policy that comes at a massive cost to the state.”
“This bill unfairly targets trans youth and puts millions of federal education dollars at risk,” an MHRN representative said in a statement. “A broad and diverse coalition of organizations and leaders will continue to fight for equality for all people, and including trans youth, and will not let this bill stop us.”
The signing of HB 112 also serves to further fortify 2021’s record as the worst year for anti-LGBTQ+ laws in history. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), 17 bills have been signed into law this year that target queer and trans people — with the majority seeking to prevent trans youth from accessing athletics or health care that affirms their gender identity. The previous record was held by 2015, in which 15 discriminatory bills were enacted.
Overall, more than 220 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation have been introduced in 2021.
