Republicans broke ranks with President Donald Trump and his anti-trans crusade to join Democrats in tanking two extreme bills in Montana.
“Trust the parents to do what’s right and stop these crazy bills that are a waste of time,” GOP Rep. Sherry Essmann urged her party on the House floor before the vote on a bill that sought to ban drag shows and pride parades.
“We should be working on property tax relief and not doing this sort of business on the floor of this house and having to even talk about this,” Essmann said.
Her call to ditch the relentless anti-trans fearmongering sharply contrasts with Trump’s recent slew of executive orders and statements attacking transgender people’s rights. He has made attacking drag a personal mission—even hijacking the bipartisan Kennedy Center in order to ban drag performances.
But the sponsor of the bill, Republican State Rep. Caleb Hinkle, who called being transgender a “fetish,” couldn’t rally enough support within his own party. Thirteen Republicans flipped to the Democrats to defeat the bill 55 to 44, signaling frustration among some Republicans with their party’s anti-trans agenda.
Even more Republicans flipped sides to kill a bill that sought to remove transgender children from their parents. It was defeated 71 to 27.
The Republican-controlled House may have been persuaded by two Democratic transgender representatives, SJ Howell and Zooey Zephyr, who gave impassioned speeches condemning the bills.
“Put yourself in the shoes of a [child protective service] worker who is confronted with a young person… living in a stable home with loving parents, who is supported and has their needs met. And they are supposed to remove that child from their home and put them in the care of the state?” Howell asked her fellow lawmakers.
A total of 696 bills targeting transgender people are currently being considered across 49 states, and 18 bills have been passed, according to a Trans Legislation Tracker.
