Advocates Say Montana Bill Would Erase Trans And Nonbinary Identities

[RandySF]

Republicans in Montana are moving forward with legislation that advocates say would effectively eliminate the legal existence of trans, nonbinary, two-spirit and intersex people in the state by codifying the definition of sex to be based on a person’s reproductive system.

The 61-page bill, SB 458, is part of a torrent of anti-LGBTQ legislation that Republicans are seeking to implement nationwide. According to experts, the bill would leave trans, nonbinary and two-spirit folks out of policies against discrimination and would ban same-sex marriage, among many other legal implications. (Same-sex marriage is currently protected by federal law.)

“I think this bill is trying to solve a problem that doesn’t really exist, and in doing so, they’re using a really faulty understanding of biology to try to change the legal code in ways that I don’t think they’ve fully thought through,” Dr. Lauren Wilson of the American Academy of Pediatrics told HuffPost.

Introduced in late February by Montana state Sen. Carl Glimm and passed via an initial vote in the state Senate, the bill would define sex as “the organization of the body and gametes for reproduction in human beings and other organisms” and states that among human beings, “there are exactly two sexes, male and female, with two corresponding gametes.”




https://www.huffpost.com/entry/advocates-montana-bill-erase-trans-nonbinary-intersex-two-spirit-identities_n_6413a735e4b0fef15243254b

[LoisB]

1. The old "sex is for reproduction" ploy.

[2naSalit]

4. Except when it's not...

For men that is.

[LoisB]

6. So true, so true.

[keithbvadu2]

2. What about a baby born as a hermaphrodite?

[Ms. Toad]

3. Largely it forces them to make a choice.

From the article:

After some debate, the bill was amended to include some exceptions for intersex individuals, who are born with anatomy or chromosomes that don’t fit into a male or female binary. However, the bill forces these individuals to align with the male or female gender, ignoring years of biological research that recognizes the existence of dozens of variations on the intersex spectrum.

BTW - hermaphrodite is an outdated term that is considered offensive by many intersex individuals.

[keithbvadu2]

5. A 'choice'... made by people, not God.

So much for God's design, eh?

(Not trying to pick a fight with you)

Just the right wingers and their limited, binary beliefs.

[Ms. Toad]

7. I completely agree.

I had just gotten done researching the same question when I landed on your post (so I had a quick answer to that question). The snippet quoted above seemed to focus on gametes (and declare there are only two gametes corresponding to sex). I'm a science person, but physical rather than biology - so I had been off looking for the connection between gametes (which I think are carried by the egg and sperm - so an odd choice to focus on) and the resulting large variation in both XY chromosomes (multiple Xs, multiple Ys), and also in physical appearance at birth (and at puberty) doesn't always match chromosomes. I didn't really get an answer (without digging into the text of the proposed law).

But the article indicates they do apparently acknowledge the reality that God didn't create a purely binary. If they were true to their beliefs that God doesn't make mistakes - and trying to understand why something they believe is binary is anything but binary, they still insist on shoving everyone into their little binary molds. Disgusting, anti-science, and hateful.