Montana governor signs bill targeting transgender athletes
Associated PressGreg Gianforte signed a bill Friday banning transgender athletes from participating in school and university sports according to the gender with which they identify, making Montana the latest of several Republican-controlled states to approve such measures this year. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. John Fuller of Whitefish, has said that “allowing males to compete as women in female sports will result in women once again being shouldered aside to stand below the awards podium and forced to cheer the accomplishments of men.” But a review by The Associated Press found that in almost every state where such measures were advanced this year, bill sponsors could not cite a single instance in their own state or region where the participation of transgender athletes in sports has caused problems. “If you look at the legislature’s justification for advancing the transgender sports ban, they could cite not one instance where transgender participation in athletics has been a problem or caused conflict,” said Alex Rate, legal director of ACLU of Montana. Montana’s Republican-controlled Legislature approved the measure last month, after it was amended to become void if the federal government withholds education funding from the state over gender discrimination and an appeal by the state fails.