Group looks to strike down Montana law to define sex as binary
A group of transgender and nonbinary Montanans on Tuesday submitted a legal challenge to strike down legislation passed earlier this year that defines sex as binary.
It’s the third lawsuit stemming from Senate Bill 458 alone since Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed it into law in May. Gianforte this year signed legislation to ban drag events in public spaces and gender-affirming care for trans youth. None have escaped legal challenges so far.
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The plaintiffs include Shawn Reagor, a transgender man and a community organizer at the Montana Human Rights Bureau; Dandilion Cloverdale, a nonbinary person whose federal passport lists an “X” marker designation but was denied similar status for a Montana state identification card; Linda Troyer, a woman who is post-menopausal, and does not now have an “endocrine system oriented around the production” of eggs and is therefore excluded from the definition of female in SB 458, according to the court filing. Two other plaintiffs in the case are listed as Jamie Doe and Jane Doe.
The plaintiffs are represented by Billings firm Holland & Hart and the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana.
“The policymakers pushing SB 458 have given up on common sense, and seem to think they can simply legislate away the diversity of Montana’s residents,” Akilah Deernose, Executive Director at the ACLU of MT said in an emailed statement.
“By forcing Montanans into two specific boxes, Montana’s conservative movement is pushing a law that is both foolish and discriminatory.”