HELENA, Montana — The Montana House Judiciary Committee listened to impassioned testimony Friday about a proposed ban on transgender people using bathrooms and changing rooms that don’t correspond with their sex at birth.
During a hearing for House Bill 121, a variety of voices spoke for and against the measure.
HB 121 reaches beyond previous Montana legislation, according to testimony before the committee, by also attempting to regulate sleeping accommodations in prisons, shelters and college campuses.
Lawmakers questioned many of those offering testimony, then adjourned before voting on the bill in committee, but that could happen as early as Monday.
If enacted, SB 121 would rank among the most aggressive transgender bathroom bans in the country, according to nonprofit media outlet Truthout. Supporters of the measure, like swimmer Riley Gaines — a celebrity spokesperson on trans issues and a former University of Kentucky collegiate swimmer — testified remotely during Friday’s hearing.
Gaines recalled the trauma she said she endured while competing against trans woman Lia Thomas. When Gaines described what it was like to share a locker room with Thomas, “a 6-foot, 4-inch fully intact naked man,” she became emotional.
SB 121 would prevent encounters like this, said Gaines, adding, “We were not forewarned, we did not give our consent to this exposure and simultaneously our own exploitation. Imagine if all spaces were co-ed.”
Gaines went on to imagine a world “where minor girls would be changing with adult men. It’s the world which we are living in.”
Rep. Caleb Hinkle, R-Belgrade, poured more emotionally charged anecdotal evidence into the testimony, citing a stack of news reports and headlines.
Hinkle led with a headline from Casper, Wyoming: “Transgender Wyoming Woman Convicted of Sexually Assaulting 10-year-old Girl In Bathroom.”
The 2017 incident led to first- and second-degree sexual abuse convictions for a man who identified as a woman.
Hinkle continued, recounting an alleged case where a transgender suspect threatened to rape Christian girls and inject the HIV virus into anyone wearing a cross.
Already Laws On The Books
Opponents of HB 121 argue that the assault case in Casper and the other shocking incidents cited during Friday’s hearing are covered by existing laws — and that HB 121 is a politically motivated wedge issue popular among Republican constituents.
“It's inhumane, unethical and costly to enforce and a distraction from the real issues affecting Montanas,” said Kristen Jordan, a Missoula City Council member. “HB 121 targets and marginalizes transgender non-binary individuals violating their rights to privacy and dignity by assuming they are all dangerous and threatening. This legislation undermines the values of privacy and safety already enshrined in Montana's Constitution.”
The bill’s scope covers all “public buildings,” defined as any facility “owned or leased by a public agency.”
This includes rest stops, public colleges and universities, public schools, libraries, museums, state airports, publicly owned hospitals and park restrooms. The measure would also cover Montana’s Capitol building and courthouses.
“We at the ACLU believe that gender identity is a protected class under the Constitution. And so because it is a protected class, it does have inherent rights associated with it,” said Henry Seaton, a lobbyist for the organization.
Those rights protect a person’s right to privacy and to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.
Opponents said that if enacted, HB 121 would require librarians, public health workers and lifeguards at public pools to go on alert and possibly establish gender check stations.
There are already self-deputized “trans investigators,” according to testimony, who function like vigilante private eyes by calling out individuals for bringing the wrong chromosomes into a bathroom.
Bearded and outwardly male-appearing, transgender man Nash Walden told lawmakers, “I have lived my life as a man that I know myself to be. This bill incorrectly defines me as a woman and would require me to use the women's bathroom. No one would be comfortable with that.”
Showdown With Sponsor
Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, is the first openly transgender person elected to the Montana Legislature, cross-examined HB 121 sponsor Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, who represents a district in northeast Billings.
Zephyr questioned the need for the legislation, asking Seekins-Crowe, “Who did you consult within this state?”
“I would not have brought this if it wasn't an issue,” Seekins-Crowe said. “Women are finally speaking up about this because before we had been told to, ‘Keep your mouth shut just go along, get along.’ And now we're speaking up. This is not targeting a certain population. This is protecting a certain population, protecting women.”
Rep. SJ Howell, another Missoula Democrat who identifies as trans, quizzed Seekins-Crowe about potential applications of HB 121 and who would be stuck with enforcing it.
“Let's say a women's room at the public library, and they encounter somebody that they believe is the opposite sex and they feel that they've been injured by that encounter,” said Howell, offering a hypothetical scenario. “Are you envisioning cameras in the bathroom, guards at all times, checks at the door?”
Seekins-Crowe responded, “This bill is not for us to invade privacy. This bill is to protect women in private spaces, and it’s not about checking.”
Seekins-Crowe repeated that around a dozen other states have passed legislation similar to HB 121.
Also, Seekins-Crowe said that while campaigning, her constituents made it clear that worries about trans people in bathrooms not aligned with their gender at birth was one of her district’s top concerns.
Before ending her questioning of Seekins-Crowe, Zephyr told the Billings legislator that the Billings YWCA opposes HB 121.
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
