Montana state lawmakers rejected a proposal to bar Democratic 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 Wednesday 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.
A Nov. 18 resolution introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) sought to bar all transgender people, including House staffers, from using single-sex facilities that correspond to their gender identity, a move she said was “absolutely” motivated by McBride’s election. Mace later introduced legislation to prohibit trans women and men from bathrooms in museums, national parks and other federal property.
Mace, who has said she’s received death threats over the bills, is fundraising off her efforts, promising T-shirts with the phrase “come and get it” printed below an image of a women’s restroom sign with every $35 donation to her campaign.
Later, on Transgender Day of Remembrance, recognized annually on Nov. 20 to memorialize trans people who lost their lives to anti-trans violence, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced a policy barring transgender people from single-sex facilities on the House side of the Capitol complex that match their gender identity. Under House rules, the Speaker has “general control” of facilities in the chamber, giving him the authority to issue the policy surrounding bathrooms.
McBride has said she will comply with Johnson’s new policy. “I’m not here to fight about bathrooms,” she said.
“This effort to distract from the real issues facing this country hasn’t distracted me over the last several days, as I’ve remained hard at work preparing to represent the greatest state in the union come January,” McBride said in a statement on social media, referring to Johnson’s and Mace’s policies.
In an interview with Scripps News last month, Zephyr advised McBride not to “cede ground.”
“When we see policies targeting trans women just trying to live their lives in the restroom, trying to play sports with their friends — that is not where the hate stops from the right,” Zephyr said. “That hate is on display at every moment, which is why it’s important for us to resist these efforts to target our community.”
“The attacks we see on trans people will escalate,” she said, adding, “This will not be the last attack on Congresswoman McBride.”
