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TENSION BUILDS IN TRANSGENDER POLICY DEBATE IN MONTANA

By Keely Larson April 21, 2023

Republish This Story


Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (front left), a Democrat, questions state Sen.
Carl Glimm, a Republican, about an anti-LGBTQ+ bill he is sponsoring in Helena
on April 13. (Keely Larson/KFF Health News)

On April 13, Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr was sitting in the basement of
Montana’s Capitol building reflecting on her time as one of the state’s first
two openly transgender legislators. She wondered whether she needed to display
more anger over anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, or whether she should focus on
promoting more of what she called “transgender joy.”


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“The thing that keeps me up at night is, am I doing a good job for my
community?” Zephyr said.

Five days later, the anger bubbled over as Zephyr spoke against amendments from
Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte to Senate Bill 99, which would prohibit minors
with gender dysphoria from receiving certain medical and surgical treatments.
Zephyr said the lawmakers who voted for the measure should be ashamed.

That prompted Republican Majority Leader Sue Vinton to speak. “We will not be
shamed by anyone in this chamber,” Vinton said.

“Then the only thing I will say is: If you vote yes on this bill, and yes on
these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation, when you bow your
heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,” Zephyr said in response.

Later that day, the Montana Freedom Caucus, a conservative group of lawmakers,
released a statement calling for Zephyr’s censure for using “inappropriate and
uncalled-for language.” The release and a Freedom Caucus post on Twitter used
male pronouns to refer to Zephyr, leading to fresh outrage by LGBTQ+ supporters
accusing Republicans of deliberately misgendering her.

Two days later, Republican House Speaker Matt Regier would not allow Zephyr to
speak during a debate on another bill. Regier said it was because she had
committed a breach of decorum.

With two weeks to go in the legislative session, Republican lawmakers, who are
in the majority, are sponsoring anti-LGBTQ+ bills. There are at least four
related measures, including the bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors.

Many similar bills are being heard in conservative-led statehouses across the
U.S. The American Civil Liberties Union has tracked more than 460 anti-LGBTQ+
bills so far in 2023 legislative sessions.

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Back in the Capitol on April 13, Zephyr stopped at a storytelling event
presented by drag performers on the second floor. Parents, children, and
supporters sat in folding chairs and on the floor while drag performers read
stories.

Zephyr was visibly emotional. A short time later, former Democratic lawmaker
Moffie Funk, who also attended the storytelling event, approached Zephyr to
thank her for her work.

“I have just been so impressed to see the way Rep. Zephyr has handled questions
on the floor, just keeps her calm, stays cool, and is so powerful in her words
and so powerful in the way she represents her community and Montana,” Funk said.

Before the session, Zephyr said she had a goal of changing at least one person’s
heart on LGBTQ+ issues.

One lawmaker who typically votes in favor of anti-transgender bills told Zephyr
about having read something about her in a far-right blog and said, “That
doesn’t sound like Zooey; she wouldn’t do that.” The lawmaker, whom Zephyr
didn’t name, subsequently stopped reading the blog.

Proponents of measures like SB 99 and House Bill 359, a bill that would have
banned minors from drag shows and ban events like drag storytelling in public
schools or libraries, frame the legislation as necessary to protect children.

In a small victory for LGBTQ+ supporters, HB 359 was amended to remove
references to drag performers and now would prohibit minors from attending
“adult-oriented” shows.

Democratic Rep. SJ Howell, who is transgender and nonbinary and uses the
pronouns “they” and “their,” has been working at the Capitol for a decade, first
as a lobbyist and now as a lawmaker representing Missoula. In all their work,
Howell said, it’s very clear that relationships matter. Progress is a long game,
and it may take years to pass legislation that promotes the rights and
recognition of transgender and nonbinary people, Howell said.

One thing that could hinder that progress is the national debate over
anti-LGBTQ+ policy proposals.

A drag performer participates in a rally outside the Montana Capitol on April 13
in Helena, in protest of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being sponsored in the legislature.
(Keely Larson/KFF Health News)

Erin Reed, who describes herself as a queer writer and content creator, has been
tracking the LGBTQ+ bills nationwide and is also Zephyr’s partner of almost a
year.

Four years ago, the debate playing out in statehouses was over transgender
rights in sports, Reed said, but that’s shifted. Now, a third of the bills
target health care — like gender-affirming hormone therapy, mostly related to
minors — and the rest focus on banning drag shows or the use of preferred
pronouns and bathrooms, or targeting the rights of transgender people in
insurance coverage and workplace protections.

But beyond the flood of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, at least 15 states have passed LBGTQ+
protections, Reed estimated.

Howell said it’s challenging being a state representative trying to focus on
Montana when so much focus has been on this national issue.

Personally, Howell said, they came to the legislature to build relationships and
make good policy, and they see many of their colleagues as friends.

“When the mutual respect isn’t present, it can be deeply frustrating and
harmful, and we can do better as a body,” Howell said.

Republican Rep. Neil Duram sits between Zephyr and Howell on the House Judiciary
Committee, which has heard all the LGBTQ+ bills this session. He said having
both in the legislature better represents Montana.

“If it was just me, and 99 other people like me on the House floor, we may not
set the best policy for the people of Montana,” Duram said.

Duram spoke during a House floor session discussing House Bill 361, which would
allow classmates to refer to a transgender student by their birth name or gender
assigned at birth, unless it crossed into bullying. He said he’s enjoyed getting
to know Judiciary seatmate Zephyr and that he’ll make sure people aren’t
“inflicting bullying behavior.”

Duram voted for HB 361. He said his decision was encouraged by his community.

“And, ultimately, that’s where my conscience is going to sit,” he said.

Montana state Rep. SJ Howell (back left), a Democrat, gathers with Montana Human
Rights Network representatives, LGBTQ+ community members, and others, including
state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (back right), for a news conference on Jan. 24 to
express opposition to bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. (Keely Larson/KFF
Health News)

On the morning of April 13, Howell and Zephyr were hearing testimony before the
House Judiciary Committee on a bill that would define sex in Montana law, Senate
Bill 458. The vibe in the room felt heavy.

Sen. Carl Glimm, sponsor of SB 458, said the bill seeks to define the terms
“sex,” “male,” and “female” in state law. Glimm said the bill was necessary
because people conflate sex and gender and maintained the bill wasn’t about
gender fluidity or expression.

“Gender is obviously something different than biological sex. Biological sex is
immutable and that means you can’t change it, and there’s only two biological
sexes,” Glimm said. “You may claim to be able to change your gender or express
your gender in a different way, but you can never change your biological sex.”

LGBTQ+ advocates, like the Montana Human Rights Network, say that by defining
people as simply male and female, the bill would legislate “transgender,
nonbinary, and intersex people out of existence.” The Montana Human Rights
Network said the definitions used in SB 458 were based “on an unscientific and
archaic understanding of basic biology.”

About an hour after the hearing, people gathered outside the Capitol in an April
snowstorm for a drag show.

Performers lip-synced for a crowd ranging from kids to college students to
retired folks who were waving rainbow-colored flags and carrying umbrellas.

As “Rise Up” by Andra Day played in the background, Katie Fire Thunder said she
came to the drag show from Bozeman to show her allyship with the LGBTQ+
community.

Fire Thunder called this session’s anti-LGBTQ+ bills “disgusting,” and said they
don’t represent Montana or what young people care about. But having both Zephyr
and Howell serving in the Capitol has made a major difference, Fire Thunder
said.

“When things are really hard and there’s all these hateful people, they’re a
little glimmer of hope,” Fire Thunder said.

Kole Burdick, 20, also of Bozeman, said it’s important to “uplift queer people
and show moments of queer joy,” and commended Zephyr and Howell for their work.

“I think they’ve been working really hard to protect our community and keep our
community safe, and I really appreciate them for that,” Burdick said.

Keely Larson is the KFF Health News fellow for the UM Legislative News Service,
a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana
Newspaper Association, and KFF Health News. Larson is a graduate student in
environmental and natural resources journalism at the University of Montana.

This article was produced by KFF Health News, formerly known as Kaiser Health
News (KHN), a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health
issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — the independent source
for health policy research, polling, and journalism. 




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 * States
 * The Health Law
 * Legislation
 * Montana
 * Transgender Health

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TENSION BUILDS IN TRANSGENDER POLICY DEBATE IN MONTANA

By Keely Larson April 21, 2023

<h1>Tension Builds in Transgender Policy Debate in Montana</h1> <span
class="byline"> By <a
href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/author/keely-larson-um-legislative-news-service/"><strong>Keely
Larson</strong></a> </span> <p>On April 13, Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr was
sitting in the basement of Montana’s Capitol building reflecting on her time as
one of the state’s <a
href="https://montanafreepress.org/2022/06/09/montana-poised-to-elect-first-openly-transgender-lawmakers/">first
two openly transgender legislators</a>. She wondered whether she needed to
display more anger over anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, or whether she should focus on
promoting more of what she called “transgender joy.”</p> <p>“The thing that
keeps me up at night is, am I doing a good job for my community?” Zephyr
said.</p> <p>Five days later, the anger bubbled over as Zephyr spoke against
amendments from Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte to <a
href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billhtml/SB0099.htm">Senate Bill 99</a>,
which would prohibit minors with gender dysphoria from receiving certain medical
and surgical treatments. Zephyr said the lawmakers who voted for the measure
should be ashamed.</p> <p>That prompted Republican Majority Leader Sue Vinton to
speak. “We will not be shamed by anyone in this chamber,” Vinton said.</p>
<p>“Then the only thing I will say is: If you vote yes on this bill, and yes on
these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation, when you bow your
heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,” Zephyr said in response.</p>
<p>Later that day, the Montana Freedom Caucus, a conservative group of
lawmakers, released a statement calling for Zephyr’s censure for using
“inappropriate and uncalled-for language.” The release and a Freedom Caucus <a
href="https://twitter.com/MTFreedomCaucus/status/1648486168122757130/photo/1">post
on Twitter</a> used male pronouns to refer to Zephyr, leading to fresh outrage
by LGBTQ+ supporters accusing Republicans of deliberately misgendering her.</p>
<p>Two days later, Republican House Speaker Matt Regier would not allow Zephyr
to speak during a debate on another bill. Regier said it was because she had
committed a breach of decorum.</p> <p>With two weeks to go in the legislative
session, Republican lawmakers, who are in the majority, are sponsoring
anti-LGBTQ+ bills. There are at least four related measures, including the bill
to ban gender-affirming care for minors.</p> <p>Many similar bills are being
heard in conservative-led statehouses across the U.S. The American Civil
Liberties Union has tracked <a
href="https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights">more than 460
anti-LGBTQ+ bills</a> so far in 2023 legislative sessions.</p> <p>Back in the
Capitol on April 13, Zephyr stopped at a storytelling event presented by drag
performers on the second floor. Parents, children, and supporters sat in folding
chairs and on the floor while drag performers read stories.</p> <p>Zephyr was
visibly emotional. A short time later, former Democratic lawmaker Moffie Funk,
who also attended the storytelling event, approached Zephyr to thank her for her
work.</p> <p>“I have just been so impressed to see the way Rep. Zephyr has
handled questions on the floor, just keeps her calm, stays cool, and is so
powerful in her words and so powerful in the way she represents her community
and Montana,” Funk said.</p> <p>Before the session, Zephyr said she had a goal
of changing at least <a
href="https://www.npr.org/2022/12/03/1140132080/transgender-legislation-lgbtq-candidates-montana-zooey-zephyr">one
person’s heart</a> on LGBTQ+ issues.</p> <p>One lawmaker who typically votes in
favor of anti-transgender bills told Zephyr about having read something about
her in a far-right blog and said, “That doesn’t sound like Zooey; she wouldn’t
do that.” The lawmaker, whom Zephyr didn’t name, subsequently stopped reading
the blog.</p> <p>Proponents of measures like SB 99 and <a
href="http://laws.leg.mt.gov/legprd/LAW0203W$BSRV.ActionQuery?P_SESS=20231&P_BLTP_BILL_TYP_CD=HB&P_BILL_NO=359&P_BILL_DFT_NO=&P_CHPT_NO=&Z_ACTION=Find&P_ENTY_ID_SEQ2=&P_SBJT_SBJ_CD=&P_ENTY_ID_SEQ=">House
Bill 359</a>, a bill that would have banned minors from drag shows and ban
events like drag storytelling in public schools or libraries, frame the
legislation as necessary to protect children.</p> <p>In a small victory for
LGBTQ+ supporters, HB 359 was amended to remove references to drag performers
and now would prohibit minors from attending “adult-oriented” shows.</p>
<p>Democratic Rep. SJ Howell, who is transgender and nonbinary and uses the
pronouns “they” and “their,” has been working at the Capitol for a decade, first
as a lobbyist and now as a lawmaker representing Missoula. In all their work,
Howell said, it’s very clear that relationships matter. Progress is a long game,
and it may take years to pass legislation that promotes the rights and
recognition of transgender and nonbinary people, Howell said.</p> <p>One thing
that could hinder that progress is the national debate over anti-LGBTQ+ policy
proposals.</p> <p>Erin Reed, who describes herself as a queer writer and content
creator, has been tracking the LGBTQ+ bills nationwide and is also Zephyr’s
partner of almost a year.</p> <p>Four years ago, the debate playing out in
statehouses was over transgender rights in sports, Reed said, but that’s
shifted. Now, a third of the bills target health care — like gender-affirming
hormone therapy, mostly related to minors — and the rest focus on banning drag
shows or the use of preferred pronouns and bathrooms, or targeting the rights of
transgender people in insurance coverage and workplace protections.</p> <p>But
beyond the flood of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, at least <a
href="https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/healthcare_laws_and_policies">15
states</a> have passed LBGTQ+ protections, Reed estimated.</p> <p>Howell said
it’s challenging being a state representative trying to focus on Montana when so
much focus has been on this national issue.</p> <p>Personally, Howell said, they
came to the legislature to build relationships and make good policy, and they
see many of their colleagues as friends.</p> <p>“When the mutual respect isn’t
present, it can be deeply frustrating and harmful, and we can do better as a
body,” Howell said.</p> <p>Republican Rep. Neil Duram sits between Zephyr and
Howell on the House Judiciary Committee, which has heard all the LGBTQ+ bills
this session. He said having both in the legislature better represents
Montana.</p> <p>“If it was just me, and 99 other people like me on the House
floor, we may not set the best policy for the people of Montana,” Duram
said.</p> <p>Duram spoke during a House floor session discussing <a
href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billhtml/HB0361.htm">House Bill 361</a>,
which would allow classmates to refer to a transgender student by their birth
name or gender assigned at birth, unless it crossed into bullying. He said he’s
enjoyed getting to know Judiciary seatmate Zephyr and that he’ll make sure
people aren’t “inflicting bullying behavior.”</p> <p>Duram voted for HB 361. He
said his decision was encouraged by his community.</p> <p>“And, ultimately,
that’s where my conscience is going to sit,” he said.</p> <p>On the morning of
April 13, Howell and Zephyr were hearing testimony before the House Judiciary
Committee on a bill that would define sex in Montana law, <a
href="https://leg.mt.gov/bills/2023/billhtml/SB0458.htm">Senate Bill 458</a>.
The vibe in the room felt heavy.</p> <p>Sen. Carl Glimm, sponsor of SB 458, said
the bill seeks to define the terms “sex,” “male,” and “female” in state law.
Glimm said the bill was necessary because people conflate sex and gender and
maintained the bill wasn’t about gender fluidity or expression.</p> <p>“Gender
is obviously something different than biological sex. Biological sex is
immutable and that means you can’t change it, and there’s only two biological
sexes,” Glimm said. “You may claim to be able to change your gender or express
your gender in a different way, but you can never change your biological
sex.”</p> <p>LGBTQ+ advocates, like the Montana Human Rights Network, say that
by defining people as simply male and female, the bill would legislate
“transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people out of existence.” The Montana
Human Rights Network said the definitions used in SB 458 were based “on an
unscientific and archaic understanding of basic biology.”</p> <p>About an hour
after the hearing, people gathered outside the Capitol in an April snowstorm for
a drag show.</p> <p>Performers lip-synced for a crowd ranging from kids to
college students to retired folks who were waving rainbow-colored flags and
carrying umbrellas.</p> <p>As “Rise Up” by Andra Day played in the background,
Katie Fire Thunder said she came to the drag show from Bozeman to show her
allyship with the LGBTQ+ community.</p> <p>Fire Thunder called this session’s
anti-LGBTQ+ bills “disgusting,” and said they don’t represent Montana or what
young people care about. But having both Zephyr and Howell serving in the
Capitol has made a major difference, Fire Thunder said.</p> <p>“When things are
really hard and there’s all these hateful people, they’re a little glimmer of
hope,” Fire Thunder said.</p> <p>Kole Burdick, 20, also of Bozeman, said it’s
important to “uplift queer people and show moments of queer joy,” and commended
Zephyr and Howell for their work.</p> <p>“I think they’ve been working really
hard to protect our community and keep our community safe, and I really
appreciate them for that,” Burdick said.</p> <p><em>Keely Larson is the KFF
Health News fellow for the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the
University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Newspaper Association,
and KFF Health News. Larson is a graduate student in environmental and natural
resources journalism at the University of Montana.</em></p> <p><em>This article
was produced by </em><a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us"><em>KFF Health
News</em></a><em>, formerly known as Kaiser Health News (KHN), a national
newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the
core operating programs at </em><a
href="https://www.kff.org/about-us/"><em>KFF</em></a><em> — the independent
source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.</em> </p> <p><a
href="https://kffhealthnews.org/about-us">KFF Health News</a> is a national
newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the
core operating programs at KFF—an independent source of health policy research,
polling, and journalism. Learn more about <a
href="https://www.kff.org/about-us/">KFF</a>.</p><h3>USE OUR CONTENT</h3><p>This
story can be republished for free (<a
href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/malpractice-lawsuits-denied-abortion-care/view/republish/">details</a>).</p>
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