Greg Gianforte, the governor of Montana, has signed into law a bill that bans transgender medical procedures for children under the age of 18 within his state.
Predictably, the bill prompted severe outrage from the far-left, both politicians and media organizations, which attacked Governor Gianforte and the Montana legislature for banning what they called “gender-affirming medical and surgical care.”
In fact, they even went so far as to call the bill that disallows surgically removing children’s genitals as “tantamount to torture.” Governor Gianforte’s own “non-binary” son got in on the act and publically called on his dad to drop the bill.
Despite the outrage, including some Democrat lawmakers claiming that the bill effectively puts “blood” on the hands of those who passed it, the Montana legislature and Governor went ahead and rammed it through, not being deterred by the outrage.
A spokesman for Governor Gianforte’s office, commenting on by the bill and why he passed it, said, “[The governor] is committed to protecting Montana’s children from invasive medical treatments that can permanently alter their healthy, developing bodies.”
Breitbart, reporting on from what quarters future opposition to the bill will likely be coming and what sister legislation to the bill was recently passed as well, said:
NGOs and activists groups in the United States are already said to be plotting legal challenges to the legislation, with the American Civil Liberties Union committing themselves to file a lawsuit against the state in order “to protect transgender youth in Montana from being stripped of access to health care that keeps them healthy and alive”.
Also recently signed into law by the governor is a bill that reportedly makes it more difficult for progressive-leaning schools in the state to punish students who refuse to call their colleagues by their preferred pronouns
“Children should not be forced to call somebody something they’re not,” Rep. Brandon Ler said regarding the legislation last February.
The Associated Press, reporting on the legislature passing the bill and the chaos that occurred as protesters disrupted proceedings to stop it, said:
Debate over Montana’s bill drew national attention after Republicans punished Zephyr for her remarks, saying her words were personally offensive. House Speaker Matt Regier refused to let Zephyr speak on the House floor until she apologized. She has not.
Zephyr decried the bill’s signing, saying “it is unconscionable to deprive Montanans of the care that we need.”
“I know that this is an unconstitutional bill. It is as cruel as it is unconstitutional. And it will go down in the courts,” Zephyr said. To trans youth she added: “There’s an understandable inclination towards despair in these moments, but know that we are going to win and until then, lean on community, because we will have one another’s backs.”
On Monday, Zephyr had stood defiantly on the House floor with her microphone raised as protesters shouted “Let her speak,” disrupting House proceedings for at least 30 minutes. Zephyr was then banned from the House and its gallery and voted on bills from a bench in the hallway outside the House on Thursday and Friday.
Featured image credit: By Jim Winstead from Los Angeles, CA, USA – greg gianforte preaching to the crowd, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60455288
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