Montana Judge Overturns Law That Erased Legal Recognition of Transgender People

[Lori Dee]

Montana Judge Overturns Law That Erased Legal Recognition of Transgender People
Judge Shane Vannatta struck down the law on a technicality, ruling that the bill's title is unconstitutionally vague.
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Truthout - Mira Lazine, ERIN IN THE MORNING
published June 27, 2024

On Tuesday, Missoula County District Court Judge Shane Vannatta of the 4th Judicial District Court ruled that Montana's Senate Bill 458, a bill that defined trans people out of the law, was unconstitutional. The order was struck down on a technicality – it was determined that the bill's title was vague due to there being multiple meanings of the term "sex," along with a lack of clarity regarding the usage of the words "male" and "female" in the title. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that due to the ambiguity in the title, Montanans could come to the conclusion that the state is endorsing discrimination against transgender and intersex individuals.

Senate Bill 458 defines sex as strictly belonging to "males" and "females" based on chromosomes and gamete production, making no exception for intersex individuals and thus putting a halt to legal protections for transgender individuals. It redefined sex as such in 41 different legislative contexts, potentially upending the lives of many transgender Montanans. It was signed by Republican Governor Greg Gianforte, and it explicitly ignored the dominant scientific view that sex is a spectrum and can be changed, and is not strictly defined as 'male' or 'female.'

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