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A state judge in Montana on Wednesday temporarily blocked a law that prevented transgender folks from using bathrooms in public buildings that aligned with their gender identities, the Associated Press reports. Transgender state Rep. Zoey Zephyr and local activists heralded the decision.
District Court Judge Shane Vannatta issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) barring enforcement of House Bill 121 until April 21. The new law, signed into law by Republic Gov. Greg Gianforte on March 27, codifies and claims to “reaffirm the longstanding meanings” of the terms “sex, male, and female” and “preserve women’s restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters for women in facilities where women have traditionally been afforded privacy and safety from acts of abuse, harassment, sexual assault, and violence committed by men.”
The suit was filed by Casey Perkins, Spencer McDonald, Kasandra Redding, and two unidentified individuals identified as Jane and John Doe. The five were represented by the ACLU of Montana, in partnership with ACLU and Legal Voice.
“Today’s ruling provides enormous relief to trans Montanans across the state,” Alex Rate, legal director for ACLU of Montana said in a statement to the media. “The state’s relentless attacks on trans and Two Spirit people cannot withstand constitutional scrutiny by the courts.”
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Zephyr, the transgender state representative who incurred the wrath of Republicans last year when they unsuccessfully tried to ban her from using the women’s restrooms in the state capital, heralded the judge’s order.
“Montana's anti-trans bathroom ban is BLOCKED by the courts,” Zephyr posted to X. “The judge finds that the ban was "motivated by animus" and that it showed no evidence that it protects safety and privacy.”
Kaitlin Price, a spokesperson for Gianforte, appeared to scoff at the case and TRO in an anti-trans statement emailed to the media.
“We’re not surprised to see far-left activists run to the courts to stop this common-sense law,” Price said before denying trans women are women.
Gianforte signed House Bill 121 last week along with House Bill 130, which made it illegal for public educational institutions to permit transgender folks to use restrooms, bathing, changing, and sleeping facilities that align with their gender identity.
“Standing alongside our partners in Montana and across the country, I am proud to safeguard privacy and security for women and girls – because a man shouldn’t be in a women’s restroom, shouldn’t be in a women’s shower room, and shouldn’t be housed in a women’s prison,” Gov. Greg Gianforte said in a statement last week announcing the signing. “Today, we’re maintaining equal opportunity for all Americans while also protecting women and girls and their right to safe and separate facilities and activities.”
Both laws took effect immediately. Since only House Bill 121 was challenged in court, House Bill 130 remains in effect.
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