Transgender Victory In Montana

Unlike Massachusetts, Montana has struck down I-183 the anti-transgender ballot measure that would have prevented transgender Montanans from using facilities consistent with their gender identity. I-183 also called the “Montana Locker Room Privacy Act,” failed to gain enough signatures to qualify for a ballot initiative this November. Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO of GLAAD stated, “Local advocacy groups in Montana set a powerful example for the rest of the country by refusing to let this harmful anti-trans initiative reach the ballot in November. While safety in public facilities is important to all of us, assault & harassment are already illegal & laws that specifically bar restroom access for transgender people only increase the abuse & mistreatment that many trans people already face.” The measure sponsored by the anti-LGBTQ & anti-choice group Montana Family Foundation (MFF), which has an extensive history of defending religious exemption bills, I-183 would have endangered transgender & non-binary Montanans forcing them out of public places by restricting their use of facilities. Additionally, it would have granted people the right to sue the government if they encountered a transgender or non-binary person in a facility that did not match the gender on their birth certificate. As you know the battle for transgender rights continues in Massachusetts where Freedom for All Massachusetts is working to fight a November 2018 ballot initiative that would repeal basic protections for trans people after the state extended non-discrimination protections to transgender people in July 2016.
For More Info: freedommassachusetts.org
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