Brody's Notes... Montana GOP Refuses To Hear Opponent Testimony On Anti-Gay Bill

By Brody Levesque (Bethesda, Maryland) FEB 19 | Yesterday, during a hearing on Tea Party-backed Montana GOP Representative Kristen Hansen's bill that would eliminate protections for LGBTQ persons by limiting all local rights ordinances to state-protected classes of people, the House Judiciary Committee refused to let opponents of the bill testify.

Scott Wheeler, Treasurer of the Montana Democratic Party on its blogsite wrote:

Opponents of the measure came from across the state to testify. Unfortunately, the Republican majority on the committee attempted to limit testimony on both sides of the issue to ten minutes. Democrats on the committee objected and even presented rules that require the public be able to at least verbally state their opposition to the bill. The Republicans on the committee ignored the rules, and refused to let opponents of the bill testify.

In response to the GOP actions, Rep. Diane Sands (D-Missoula) took to reading the names of every opponent (all 50+) of the measure and asked them to stand and be acknowledged.

After the hearing, opponents of the measure held their own hearing, next to the statue of Rep. Jeannette Rankin, where they allowed all of the opponents of the measure speak and be heard. During this informal hearing, Sen. Carol Williams and other Democratic lawmakers showed up to show their frustrations with the treatment of these Montanans that simply wanted to be heard.

Let’s be clear on what happened today. Republicans decided there wasn’t enough time to listen to people who were possibly being stripped of their rights. However, since the beginning of the legislative session, the Republicans have given full and fair hearing to the following bills:

• SB 112 – Which allows makes a hand thrown spear a legal form of hunting.
• HB 278 – Which allows every city to create their own militia.
• SJ 2 – Which urges the United States to withdraw from the United Nations.
• HB 205 – The “Birther Bill.”
• HB 384 – Which allows people to carry concealed weapons in bars, banks and churches.

These are bills, which are either unconstitutional, based on conspiracy theories or seriously threaten our public safety, that they think are worthy of their time, however they believe bills that strip rights from Montanans aren't worthy of full hearings. It says a lot about the priorities of the Republican Majority in the Montana Legislature.

The committee also heard testimony on another measure also pending, House Bill 514 which adds gender identity or expression and sexual orientation to the protections of the Montana Human Rights Act. Democrat Representative Edie McClafferty, (House District 75.) is asking the Legislature to protect the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community from being discriminated against in Montana.

“These are our sons, daughters and neighbors and constitutes and they are entitled to live a free life from discrimination,” says McClafferty 

McClafferty's House Bill 514 adds gender identity or expression and sexual orientation to the protections of the Montana Human Rights Act.
During discussions on this measure, there was heated debate after Harold Himes, a pastor and a member of Montana Eagle Forum told the committee:

 “This bill actually discriminates against me and those who believe as I do that homosexuality and Transgender and all of these things is an abomination to God."

An angry lawmaker on the committee immediately took exception to Himes' characterisation of LGBTQ persons as an abomination. Missoula Democrat Representative Diane Sands (D-House District 95.) said:

 “This is about the law, and I want to say that I personally am very deeply offended that, at a point of personal privilege, that Reverend Himes, would refer to myself as a Lesbian and to the members of my community as an abomination.”

The measure's opponents argued that sexual orientation is a choice and the bill discriminates against their own religious views. Their view of a measure to protect the LGBT community is that homosexuals are not a class of people that need protection.

 “With regard to victimization it doesn't exist, these classes of people are treated, according to this report, exactly the same as every other class of citizens here,” says Jeff Lazloffy with the Montana Family Foundation.

Last April, the city of Missoula passed the Missoula Nondiscrimination Ordinance to protect the LGBT community in their city. The ordinance offers Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Transgender’s in Missoula protections in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations. Representative Hansen's House Bill 516 would repeal the Missoula ordinance and not allow local governments from passing similar ordinances in the future.

However, supporters of Representative McClafferty's bill say the discrimination is real:

“Everyday these people live knowing that any moment they can be evicted from their homes or fired from their jobs because of who God has called them to love,” says Daniel Viehland with Montana Quality Now!

Representative McClafferty added, “Everyone is entitled to live a free life from discrimination."

VIDEO: Pastor Harris Himes explains that homosexuality is an abomination worthy of being put to death and therefore gay people should not be rented homes in Montana:

VIDEO: After the hearing, Democrats gathered in a hallway to denounce having been shut out of the debate: