Montana lawmakers reject bid to restrict restroom use for trans lawmakers

Montana state lawmakers on Tuesday rejected a proposal that could have restricted restroom access for transgender lawmakers at the state Capitol in Helena.

The decision came after a close vote in the Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee. All Democrats opposed the measure. Several Republicans also spoke out against it.

“This particular action will result in people becoming famous in the national news,” Rep. David Bedey, a Republican from Hamilton, said during the committee meeting, “and will not contribute to the effective conduct of our business.”

The proposal, which addressed the restrooms reserved for lawmakers between the House and Senate chambers, would have effectively prevented transgender people from using the restrooms that correspond to their gender identity.

Rep. Jerry Schillinger, a Circle Republican who sponsored the measure, said it would ensure that “the girls’ restrooms are used only by girls and the men’s restrooms are only used by men.”

Debate on the measure came about a month after the re-election of Zooey Zephyr, a Missoula Democrat and transgender woman now beginning her second term in the State House.