Ok, deep breath, everyone. Montana narrowly defeated HB 113, which would have prohibited ALL gender affirming care for transgender youth. The #mtleg, in its wisdom, has revived this bill with a new name, HB 427, focusing only on surgery.

What's the problem, you say? Our guidelines all say that youth < 18 should not have bottom surgery. In fact, no one does bottom surgery in Montana - it's complex & takes a big specialized center. But these are the ones #mtleg has its panties in a twist about, in fear & outrage.

Top surgeries are covered by insurance (as is required under the ACA) starting at 18, although in extraordinary circumstances older teens < 18 may get surgery. Usually only if they are dysphoric enough to be suicidal and both parents come to this tough decision with them.

So is this bill less bad than HB 113? Yes, and no. I think teens having access to puberty blockers (which are a "pause button" for puberty, and, we should note, obviate the need for top surgery) is far more important. Only 30%-ish of transgender people ever get surgery, actually.

So it affects fewer people. Sure. But it's still a group of legislators throwing themselves between doctors, patients, and families trying to protect us from ourselves, because we are clearly not trusted to make good, hard decisions. Because ... no idea.

More to the point, this concerted focus on transgender kids and what they can and can't do is hostile, and they're feeling that. Why do this? Why "solve" a problem that's not a problem? It's part of a concerted effort with multiple bills we're calling Discrimination by Design.

A couple more in the Discrimination By Design:
SB 215 - "Religious freedom restoration", i.e. I can violate non-discrimination laws if my beliefs say so
SB 245 - Specifically, medical practitioners can discriminate
HB 112 - Trans girls can't play on sports teams in their gender

Is this the state we want? I used to tell people, Montana is the last great bastion of "live and let live". Different people respecting each other and staying out of each other's business. Now? Nope.

So: organize. Tell #mtleg we didn't ask them to bully LGBTQ+ Montanans & other minority groups; we are asking them to keep our state solvent & running during a pandemic. Vote NO on HB427, 112, SB215, 245. Montana is better than this. We are Montana too.