Men in women’s restrooms?

by Rep. David Bedey, HD 86, Hamilton

I find it astonishing that I must pen this letter.

When I returned home almost two decades ago after a 30-year career in the U.S. Army, I was heartened to find that here in Montana being a good neighbor remained far more important than your party affiliation and that honesty still mattered. But sadly, the hyper-partisan poison afflicting national politics has found its way here. So I find myself having to combat a “big lie” propaganda campaign that counts on voters blindly accepting incredible distortions of my record.

If you watch streaming television, then you have probably seen anonymous advertisements running several times a day that accuse me of voting to allow men in women’s bathrooms. This claim is both false and grossly misleading.

I’ll take on the blatant lie first. The record shows I voted FOR the so-called “bathroom bill” (HB 121), which was meant to protect women’s privacy in public restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters.

That said, I did oppose a legislative rule that only would have barred men from a single women’s restroom in Montana. That restroom is in the State Capitol where it is reserved for female legislators and is not open to the public. Why did I oppose the rule? Because this restroom already has privacy locks on its doors. More importantly, the rule did not apply to the public restrooms throughout the Capitol. If the rule had passed, transgender legislators would have undoubtedly made use of the public restrooms. How does that protect the privacy of women visiting the State Capitol? This rule was a political gimmick. Its sole purpose was to provoke a confrontation. Activists on both sides of the aisle would have had their day before the cameras. Attention would have been drawn away from important issues facing Montana, such as property tax reform. I didn’t go to Helena to engage in such childish nonsense.

Gender dysphoria is an issue that should be approached with facts, not vitriol. And we must protect the health of children and the hard-earned rights of women. A review of my speeches on the House floor shows that I am one of the few Republican legislators willing to engage in serious debate on this issue.

Whatever your position might be on the transgender issue, I ask that you stand against the liars. Lies spread by shadowy or anonymous propagandists pollute our politics. This is not the Montana way.