Montana bill to keep trans women out of female sports clears hurdle as Trump signs order

On the same day President Donald Trump signed an executive order prohibiting transgender athletes from girls and women’s sports, members of the Montana Legislature celebrated similar efforts at the state level.

A proposal from Rep. Kerri Seekins-Crowe, a Billings Republican, that would bar people assigned male at birth from participating in athletic programs or activities designated for females if the program receives state dollars, cleared an initial hurdle and looks poised to pass the House.

House Bill 300 passed a preliminary vote 58-42 on party lines. Lawmakers will vote on Thursday whether to send the bill to the Senate.

“Today is a good day,” Seekins-Crowe said at a Wednesday press conference following the vote.

Democrats criticized HB 300 as another solution in search of a problem, the latest political ploy to curry favor with ideologues and a waste of taxpayer dollars when the state has to fight litigation that might challenge the measure should it become law.

The Legislature has passed similar bills in past sessions, but all have been temporarily stalled or struck down by the courts.

Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, called it “an incredible act of hubris” for lawmakers to think “we know all there is to know about humanity and the universe” and “that we can boil it down and put it on paper and that’s going to be enough.”

Lawmakers on both sides of the bill shared personal stories of how it would touch their lives.

Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, a transgender woman, shared she was a five-time state champion in wrestling before transitioning so that her sex assigned at birth aligned with her gender identity. She emphasized how the physical changes associated with that process made continuing to perform athletically at a high level difficult, telling the House how she used to run a 5 1/2-minute mile but now clocks one in 9 1/2 minutes.

House Speaker Brandon Ler, a Republican from Savage, said HB 300 makes him think of his daughter and what he would want for her in any future athletic career.

“I want her to know that when she works hard, she’ll have the same opportunities as everyone else,” he said at the press conference. “That’s what this bill is about.”

Bill supporters have yet to identify the number of transgender athletes they believe are currently competing in NCAA women’s sports in Montana, a point its detractors have emphasized.

Since taking office, Trump has made good on campaign promises to curtail the rights of transgender people in nearly every arena.

The Department of Education under Trump overturned Biden-era Title IX rules that extended anti-discriminatory federal protections to trans students. On his first day in the Oval Office, Trump declared the government would only acknowledge two sexes, male and female. And he issued a directive to stop federal funds from being used for gender-affirming care.

On Wednesday, also deemed National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Trump signed an executive order that would prohibit trans athletes from competing in any women’s and girls leagues that receive federal dollars. It allows the U.S. Department of Education to penalize schools that allow transgender athletes to compete, citing the newly changed Title IX, a federal policy that prohibits discrimination in schools.

"With this executive order, the war on women's sports is over," Trump declared at the order's signing ceremony Wednesday.

HB 300 enjoys support from Gov. Greg Gianforte and the head of the state education agency, but the Montana University System previously said the bill could put teams out of compliance with NCAA rules and open schools up to extensive litigation.

The House will vote whether to pass the bill on Thursday.