Judge blasts Montana’s anti-trans law as likely unconstitutional & harmful to minors

A state judge has blocked Montana’s recently passed law targeting transgender youth and their medical providers from going into effect.

Missoula County District Court Judge Jason Marks blasted the law as “unlikely to survive any level of constitutional review” and added that “barring access to gender-affirming care would negatively impact gender dysphoric minors’ mental and physical health.” 

Related: Furious judge slams Montana for defying court orders in trans rights case & orders state to pay

District Court Judge Michael G. Moses held the state in contempt for defying his previous orders in support of trans rights.

Lambda Legal brought the lawsuit along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Montana, and the Perkins Coie law firm on behalf of three families with trans children and two medical providers who work with trans youth.

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The plaintiffs argued that the law violates their rights under the Montana Constitution, including the right to privacy, equal protection, and parents’ right to direct their children’s upbringing.

“We are gratified the judge understood the danger of denying transgender Montana youth access to gender-affirming care as the challenge to this cruel and discriminatory law proceeds,” said Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Kell Olson. “Transgender youth in Montana will continue to thrive, and removing this looming threat to their well-being is an important step in allowing them to do so.”

Federal district courts have blocked such bans in Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee. In August 2023, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals allowed Alabama’s ban to take effect while a legal challenge against it proceeds. On September 1, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on lower court rulings blocking bans in Kentucky and Tennessee and will issue a ruling before September 30. 

In June 2023, a federal court in Arkansas struck down that state’s ban on gender-affirming care in the first ruling on the merits of such a law, finding it violated the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, and First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

A transgender woman, two bookstore owners, and an educator who teaches in historical costumes are suing Montana over its law banning drag performers from reading to children. If successful, the suit could cause the law to be blocked from being enforced.

The federal lawsuit calls the law “a breathtakingly ambiguous and overbroad bill, motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ animus,” and alleges that it violates Constitutional rights to free speech and equal protection under the law.