Editor’s Note: Non-binary people don’t fully identify with either male or female. David Gianforte, the governor of Montana’s child, lists the English pronouns he/they for himself – hence the term “non-binary son”.
The US state of Montana is known for gorgeous landscapes, mining and cowboys – but not for its progressive politics.
Like many Republican-governed states, an increasingly rough wind is blowing through the queer community. As the non-profit investigative network Montana Free Press (MTFP) reports, the Treasure State is poised to move significantly further to the right on LGBTQ rights. Governor Greg Gianforte, the first Republican in office in 16 years, is about to sign into law a series of restrictive bills. But he apparently made the calculation without his son.
David Gianforte felt compelled to use his relationship with his father for the benefit of queer people in Montana, he told MTFP. After all, the 32-year-old is part of it himself – he defines himself as non-binary.
Specifically, he wants to prevent three Republican projects that involve making gender reassignment treatments more difficult, establishing a strictly binary gender definition and restricting drag shows.
David, the second oldest of the governor’s four children, first emailed his father and asked him “as your voter and your son” to veto the bills. “I would like to understand your thoughts and concerns better. When can we meet to talk about it? Love, Dad,” the father said.
At the end of March, father and son would have sat down. At the meeting, David read a prepared statement, which said, among other things, “In my own best interest I have chosen to focus primarily on trans rights as this directly affects a number of my friends… Me would like to make the argument that these bills are immoral, unjust and frankly a violation of human rights.”
The governor listened carefully to his son’s arguments and explained why he supported his party colleagues’ plans. Gianforte Jr. told MTFP that his father was “concerned about his career” and “recognized that his continued tenure as governor depends on his support for the Republican Party.
Whether and to what extent he persuaded his father to change his mind can only be guessed at. So far, there has been no official statement from the governor’s office. “The governor loves his family and appreciates their thoughts, ideas and perspectives,” his spokeswoman said simply.
On April 17, however, the governor sent the controversial bills back to parliament. In the meantime, he has spoken to trans people and realized that “their struggles are real and I feel for them.” In principle, however, he still does not reject the restrictive legislative proposal – he only requested changes. According to MFG, David called his father’s words “bizarre”.
Like many conservative-governed states, the Montana legislature has recently introduced numerous laws that target the LGBTQ community and disadvantage trans people in particular. The Republican majorities are primarily concerned with banning gender reassignment treatments and operations for minors. This year alone, eleven countries have already passed corresponding bans.
Recently, it was announced that Trans Democratic MP Zooey Zephyr was banned from sitting in Montana. 68 of her Republican colleagues accused her of violating the good manners of the chamber (read the background here). Zephyr said during a debate that supporters of such a ban had “blood on their hands”.
According to the Axios news platform, ten anti-trans laws were passed in Montana alone in the last legislative period. However, Texas is the leader in this regard. In the Lone Star State, 57 such designs were launched. The Texas Department of Agriculture had caused a stir. The authority, headed by the arch-conservative Trumpist Sid Miller, has apparently been dictating that its employees dress “according to their biological sex” since mid-April (the star reported).
Quellen: “Montana Free Press”; “New York Times”; “Guardian”
