Hateful bill

by Will Walker, Hamilton

On January 1st, 2023, State Senator John Fuller sponsored Senate Bill 99, a self described “Youth Protection Act” designed to insulate Montana Youth from a perceived campaign of indoctrination by radical transgender propagandists. The bill seeks to enact a total and absolute ban on all gender-affirming care for minors, completely prohibits state employees from using gender-affirming language for minors, and threatens criminal penalties for any health care professionals who provide gender-affirming care for minors.

I will not mince words. Senator John Fuller will have the blood of transgender children on his hands if this bill passes, and I do not believe that he cares. He has been given multiple opportunities to see what kind of harm this legislation will do, and yet he persists. It is not a debate that gender-affirming care saves lives, it is a fact. Fuller does not have the luxury of feigning ignorance of this. He knows exactly what the effects of SB99 will be, and all other possibilities being exhausted, we know that this is his goal. All constituents opposed to this bill have an obligation to take action against it, through all possible means. It can be anything from a letter to your local State Senator to organizing a protest, but you must do something.

I have seen the effects of acts of hatred against LGBT individuals with my own eyes, and that is why I have no tolerance for them. We cannot call ourselves a free nation if we allow the bigotry of men like John Fuller to become law. It is our obligation to never let it happen again.