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The proposal would have effectively barred transgender women from using the State Capitol restroom for female lawmakers. Some Republicans joined Democrats in voting it down.
Dec. 3, 2024, 7:13 p.m. ET
State lawmakers in Montana on Tuesday rejected a proposal that could have restricted bathroom access for transgender lawmakers at the State Capitol in Helena.
The decision came down to a narrow vote in the Legislature’s joint rules committee. All Democrats opposed the measure. Several Republicans argued against it, too.
“This particular action will have the effect of making people famous in the national news,” Representative David Bedey, a Republican from Hamilton, said during the committee meeting, “and will not contribute to the effective conduct of our business.”
The proposal, which addressed the restrooms reserved for lawmakers between the House and Senate chambers, would have effectively barred transgender people from using the bathrooms that align with their gender identities.
Representative Jerry Schillinger, a Republican from Circle who sponsored the measure, said it would ensure that “the gals’ restroom will be used only by gals, and the guys’ restroom will be used only by guys.”
The debate over the measure came about a month after the re-election of Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat from Missoula and a transgender woman who is now beginning her second term in the State House.
