Through our 65 years in the Flathead, attending St. Matthews Catholic Church and Flathead High, we’ve learned that we knew many LGBTQ+ folks throughout Montana. Years ago, many weren’t given the opportunity to live freely, were forced to move away, some committed suicide. Having transgender and gay members in our families has educated us. The openness today of the conversation is incredibly important at saving lives (don’t worry, no one is going to “catch the gay” because they heard the words). Following misguided fear using Christianity, the Montana Legislature is attacking LGBTQ+ folks, picking on those who deserve our love and support.
HB 359 was intended to ban prurient drag shows from children; suggesting drag performers and LGBTQ+ folks are prurient (adj. encouraging excessive sexual interest), is simply not true. We support Rep. Zooey Zephyr’s amendments that would protect children from “any prurient person or show.”
SB 99 prohibiting gender care for minors has now been amended to acknowledge that there can be many gender variables within each individual; chromosomal makeup, testosterone levels, etc., so why not leave it up to the individuals in the privacy of their doctor’s office. We support eliminating SB 99 entirely.
Legislative overreach will cause more lawsuits, suicides, overfilled closets, even may enrage a few to be violent toward the LGBTQ+ community. You won’t stop people from being who they are in their own skin; two spirit, intersex (those born with both genitalia), transgender, gay, lesbian, non-binary, it’s seldom black and white, these bills won’t change that and the church isn’t going to save us, for God’s sake, those men wear dresses. The LGBTQ+ community is not going away. Stop the hate, let’s work on continued conversation, spreading love, inclusion and being kind to each other.
Cris Coughlin and Steve Sutherland
Whitefish