A proposal to ban a transgender Montana lawmaker from using the women’s bathroom in the state's capitol building failed on Tuesday.
The proposed amendment, introduced by Republican Rep. Jerry Schillinger of Circle, would have required state legislators to use restrooms based on their biological sex at birth.
The amendment needed to receive a majority from House members and Senate members on the joint rules committee to advance. It got enough votes to pass on the Senate side, but not the House.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, was Montana’s first openly transgender female lawmaker. Rep. SJ Howell, D-Missoula, was the first nonbinary lawmaker. Both were first elected in 2022 and reelected this year.
RELATED STORY | Montana transgender lawmaker on Capitol Hill's bathroom ban: 'Do not cede ground'
On social media, Zephyr thanked her colleagues — particularly her republican colleagues — who she said “recognized this as a distraction from the work we were elected to do.”
Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, one of four Republicans to vote against the proposal, said, “This particular action will have the effect of making people famous in the national news and will not contribute to the effective conduct of our business."
This comes after some intense moments last month in Washington after a Republican representative from South Carolina proposed a similar ban on Capitol Hill ahead of the first openly transgender member of Congress, Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Delaware, taking office next year.
RELATED STORY | Justices seemingly unmoved to overturn transgender health care ban for minors
