Montana state lawmakers rejected a proposal to bar Democratic state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the state’s first transgender legislator, from using the women’s restroom at the state Capitol, with several Republicans voting with all Democrats to defeat the measure.
“I’m happy to see that this proposed ban failed and am grateful for my colleagues — particularly my republican colleagues — who recognized this as a distraction from the work we were elected to do,” Zephyr wrote on the social platform X. “I’m ready to represent my constituents & look forward to working on behalf of Montana.”
On Tuesday, the Legislature’s Joint Rules Committee met to discuss amending rules before the next legislative session in January, including a measure, introduced by Republican state Rep. Jerry Schillinger, requiring state lawmakers to use restrooms that align with their birth sex.
“It says what probably shouldn’t need to be said and puts into rules what probably shouldn’t need to be put into rules,” Schillinger said of the proposal. While several Republicans in the state’s GOP-dominated Legislature said they agreed with Schillinger, the measure ultimately failed, with the Senate committee voting 11-7 in favor and the House committee voting 12-10 against.
State Rep. David Bedey, a Republican representing northwest Montana, said ahead of Tuesday’s vote that he would “reluctantly” vote against Schillinger’s proposal, which he called “a distraction.”
The measure’s failure comes after House Republicans moved late last month to block Rep.-elect Sarah McBride (D-Del.), set to be the first openly transgender person to serve in Congress, from using the women’s restroom in the U.S. Capitol and House office buildings.