Montana Senate passed legislation on Friday, adopting a discriminatory and unworkable definition of sex, aimed at excluding LGBTQ+ people from the protections of state law. There would be a particularly harmful impact on intersex, nonbinary and transgender people. If it becomes law, LGBTQ+ people would be prohibited from bringing claims of sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination in areas like employment, housing, public accommodations, health care, credit, and education. It would also require applications and records such as marriage licenses, death certificates, cemetery interment records, and child support registration to list sex based on biology rather than gender identity. The bill doubles down on the state ban on transgender students participating in sports consistent with their gender identity and the ban on marriage for same-sex couples. The Human Rights Campaign has condemned the vote.
