Montana Republicans Face Backlash Over Treatment of Transgender Individuals and Dissenting Voices

Montana state lawmaker Kerri Seekins-Crowe, who sponsored legislation to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, suggested during a floor debate that she would rather risk her daughter dying by suicide than allow her to transition. Seekins-Crowe did not say that her daughter identified as transgender, but said she was "one of those parents who lived with a daughter who was suicidal for three years." Her comments have drawn backlash online. Montana House Republicans voted this week to censure Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat and Montana’s first transgender state legislator.