Provisions in two state bills that targeted transgender identity in Montana were stripped from the legislation and passed with bipartisan support on Wednesday, the latest in a string of victories for trans rights in the Treasure State.
“Two more wins for trans people in Montana!” exclaimed Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr in a victory lap on social.
Related
Republicans help defeat bill that would’ve jailed parents of trans kids
The bill also would’ve jailed medical professionals and website administrators who help trans kids.
The two bills were among nineteen anti-LGBTQ+ measures proposed in the Montana legislature this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
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Zooey is doing WORK in Montana and teaching everyone several lessons: 1) You can stand on your values as a Democrat and not harm trans people. 2) Doing so can actually move hearts and minds in a traditionally conservative state. 3) There is value in having representation in our halls of power.
— Erin Reed (@erininthemorning.com) April 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
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HB 446 originally aimed to modify indecent exposure laws in Montana by removing an “intent clause” targeting transgender individuals. The bill would have criminalized any non-cis individual seen in restrooms, changing rooms, or other private spaces.
The bill, sponsored by Republican state Rep. Jedediah Hinkle, passed only after it was modified to remove the clause targeting trans and non-binary people, with eleven Republicans joining Democrats on a 29-20 vote.
SB 218A would have allowed anyone opting to detransition to sue medical providers for “injuries” caused by gender-affirming care. An amendment modified the legislation to establish that legal action would only be possible if the “injuries” occurred due to gross negligence. A provision allowing detransitioners the option to sue for up to 25 years was reduced to four years.
Those victories came after seventeen Republicans joined Democrats on Tuesday to defeat SB 164, a bill that would have charged adults with “endangering child welfare” if they obtained gender-affirming medical care — including puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy — for any child under the age of 16.
The law would have punished any adult who “knowingly procures or provides” such care with fines of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to five years, including parents, medical workers, and employees of organizations — even websites — that help trans patients obtain care. That bill was defeated 58-40.
“The tide is changing in Montana!” Zephyr posted to social after the bill’s defeat.
The latest defeats for rightwing Montana Republicans’ anti-trans agenda come after two other anti-LGBTQ+ bills were quashed early in March.
HB 675, sponsored by state Rep. Caleb Hinkle (R), would have banned drag performances and Pride parades in Montana. The bill was Hinkle’s second drag ban attempt after courts struck down an earlier law passed by the legislature that was used against a trans woman who was not a drag artist to prevent her from speaking at a library event.
To circumvent the ruling, Hinkle proposed granting individuals the right to sue drag performers rather than relying on state enforcement. Hinkle called being transgender “a fetish” during committee hearings.
In an impassioned speech by Zephyr, she told lawmakers from the floor, “If you are a woman in this body wearing a suit today, you are in some way challenging gender norms that existed long ago.” 13 Republicans joined Democrats to vote the bill down.
A second anti-trans bill, HB 754, would have allowed Montana to remove transgender children from their parents’ custody and earned an emotional condemnation from Rep. SJ Howell (D), who became the second trans legislator elected to the Montana House in November, after Zephyr.
“Put yourself in the shoes of a [Child Protective Services] worker who is confronted with a young person, 15 years old maybe, who is happy… healthy… living in a stable home with loving parents, who is supported and has their needs met,” Howell asked lawmakers.
“And they are supposed to remove that child from their home and put them in the care of the state? We should absolutely not be doing that.”
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