Democratic politician Zooey Zephyr has celebrated the amendment of two state bills that make legislation significantly less anti-trans.
Montana’s first trans state representative shared her elation on Wednesday (9 April).
Proposed in February, House Bill 446 originally aimed to modify indecent exposure laws in the state to remove an “intent clause” only for transgender residents, putting any non-cis individual seen in toilets, changing rooms, or other private spaces, at risk of arrest.
Zephyr told the House of Representatives that she was “getting very, very tired of rising on bills targeting the transgender community,” and this was no exception, Erin In The Morning reported.
“This is the sixth bill I have had to speak on in 24 hours. You have two indecent exposure laws. One in our existing statute where someone is trying to abuse a person, where someone is trying to get sexual gratification, and another where the crime is being trans.”
The bill, sponsored by Republican Jedediah Hinkle, was modified to remove the clause targeting trans and non-binary people after a 29-20 vote. Eleven Republicans went against party lines by aligning with Democrats.
A subsequent vote passed the bill with 27 voting for and 23 against.
‘Every win is worth celebrating’
A bill in the senate was also modified on Wednesday to ensure that medical practitioners were protected from legal action for providing gender-affirming care in the Treasure State.
Proposed by Republican senator John Fuller in January, the bill would have allowed anyone opting to detransition to sue medical providers for “injuries” caused by gender-affirming care.
The amendment meant that legal action was only possible if the “injuries” occurred due to gross negligence.
Zephyr described the amendments as “wins” for Montana, writing on Bluesky that every win was worth celebrating.
“We also passed the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act to protect Indigenous kids in foster/adoption proceedings,” she said. “We’ve killed six anti-trans bills in the last month, as well as multiple anti-abortion bills. I celebrate them all.”
Nineteen anti-LGBTQ+ bills have proposed in Montana this year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
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