Montana House Endorses Transgender Bathroom Ban Affecting Fellow Lawmakers

Montana's Republican-controlled House on Wednesday endorsed a ban on transgender people using bathrooms in public buildings that do not align with their sex assigned at birth - a change that would complicate daily life for two fellow lawmakers.

The move comes a month after Montana legislators rejected a more narrow rule that would have kept transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr out of women's restrooms in the state Capitol on the heels of her return from a legislative exile.

Zephyr and nonbinary Rep. SJ Howell pleaded with their GOP colleagues to reject the proposal and to stop labeling trans people as a threat to women without evidence supporting the claim.

A dozen other states already have variations of bathroom bans on the books, many directed at schools. Even more states, including Montana, have passed laws to ban gender-affirming medical care for trans youth and keep trans girls out of girls sports.

"Trans people walk through the state of Montana afraid enough already," Zephyr said. "Leave trans people alone. Let me be the woman I'm happy to be. Let me live my life."