Montana Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed legislation Friday to ban gender change therapies for transgender youth, including restricting hormone transition treatments and surgeries for transgender people under 18 years of age.
This law is similar to the regulations adopted by at least a dozen states in the US during 2023, according to a report by The New York Times.
The regulation sparked a controversy between the House of Representatives and elected official Zoeey Zephyr, one of the few trans legislators in the United States.
Zephyr, for his part, stated that the law would negatively affect the transgender population in the state. “It’s clearly an anti-trans policy that doesn’t align with Montana values,” he said in an interview with The New York Times.
Faced with the regulations, the son of the Montana governor, David Gianforte, expressed his rejection. David Gianforte identifies as non-binary, and has publicly called on his father to reject the law, which he called immoral and unfair.
Governor Gianforte’s office issued a statement stating that the state president “is committed to protecting Montana’s children from invasive medical treatments, which can permanently alter their health as well as their developing bodies.” This was reported by Kaitlin Price, spokeswoman for the governor, in an email reviewed by The New York Times.
According to NPR, the signing of the laws has generated a lot of reactions.
For example, the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics said the law “is a measure that takes away an important decision that should be made by the families and doctors (of those affected) and puts them in the hands of politicians.”
Organizations such as Lambda Legal, the American Civil Liberties Union and other associations have indicated that they will appeal the law in US courts, NPR reported.
The law will enter into force on October 1, 2023.
Keep reading:
– Minnesota Governor Passes Laws to Ban Conversion Therapies
– Minnesota lawmakers ban conversion therapy for people in the LGBTIQ+ community
– Florida Republican Rep. Apologizes After Calling Transgender People “Mutants” And “Devils”