Pride Foundation

John Blake of Montana Equality Now and activist Bobbie Zenker

I am writing you today to ask all Montanans who care about equality to help in two ways:

1)   Educate yourself about Montana House Bills 516 and 514 – both of which have significant impacts on the LGBT community in Montana and on the movement for equal rights.

2)   Email your elected officials (links provided) to share your opinions about these two Bills – along with your hopes and expectations as a pro-equality voter. Better yet, show up at the House Judiciary Committee hearing at 8 a.m. this Friday morning and testify in person.

Montana is known for its live-and-let-live attitude. Our state Constitution even guarantees a right to privacy, making it one of the most progressive in the entire United States. Yet House Bill 516, scheduled to be introduced in the House Judiciary Committee this Friday at 8 a.m., disrespecting the democratic will of local communities. The bill asks the state to step in and nullify Missoula’s city ordinance passed last spring (read the background article from the Missoulian.com) that prevents discrimination of LGBT people in rental housing, obtaining a loan, hiring and firing, and using public restrooms and other “public accommodations.”

Email the committee to let them know what you think about HB 516.

The bill (HB516) to nullify Missoula’s ordinance, as reported in the Missoulian several weeks ago, came about after Dallas Erickson of Stevensville, MT, convinced Rep. Kristin Hansen of Havre to sponsor the bill. Erickson was one of the leaders of the NotMyBathroom.com group that opposed the Missoula ordinance. Havre is a small town nearly 400 miles northeast of Missoula.

Missoula City Council member Dave Strohmaier co-sponsored the original ordinance preventing LGBT discrimination in Missoula with Stacy Rye, called the legislative attempt to nullify it “a disgrace to Montana.”

“Why on earth a legislator from Havre would be so concerned about an ordinance in Missoula is beyond me,” said Dave. “The thought of passing laws that actually sanction discrimination against citizens of this state has more in common with the 19th century than the 21st that we’ve now entered. If legislators are really as concerned as they say they are about making Montana business-friendly, the last thing they should be doing is proposing legislation that suggests that Montana is unwelcoming, bigoted, and closed minded.”

Bobbie Zenker is a Pride Foundation volunteer and activist of many hats who participated in the “Everybody Matters” panel sponsored by NCBI Missoula and YWCA Missoula, that aimed to dispel some of the hurtful myths leveled at the transgender community in particular during the run-up to the Missoula City Council’s consideration of the ordinance last April.

“I stood in solidarity with those seeking equality, and I testified at the hearing,” Bobbie said. “I oppose this [HB516] because it seeks to usurp the power and authority of local government. I will use every means at my disposal to generate opposition to it – both as a matter of fairness and as a matter of policy.”

Bobbie is not alone. Facebook and other social networking sites are buzzing with LGBT people and allied friends are carpooling from every corner of Montana in order to show up in droves to oppose this hateful legislation and support equality for all Montanans.

Also slated for Friday’s hearing is some pro-LGBT legislation – hooray!  House Bill 514 would add sexual orientation and gender identity as protected classes of people under the Montana Human Rights Act. Email the committee now to voice your opinion about HB 514.

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