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MT-Gov: The Guardian, "Montana governor lobbied by non-binary son to reject anti-trans bills" [1]

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Date: 2023-04-27  

Gov. Greg Gianforte (R. MT)

From The Guardian:

x Montana governor lobbied by nonbinary son to reject anti-trans bills https://t.co/oABNEG4RIu — The Guardian (@guardian) April 27, 2023 The son of the Republican governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, met their father in his office to lobby him to reject several bills that would harm transgender people in the state, the Montana Free Press reported. David Gianforte told the paper they identify as non-binary and use he/they pronouns – the first time they disclosed their gender identity publicly. They told the outlet they felt an obligation to use their relationship with their father to stand up for LGBTQ+ people in the state. “There are a lot of important issues passing through the legislature right now,” they said in a statement. “For my own sake I’ve chosen to focus primarily on transgender rights, as that would significantly directly affect a number of my friends … I would like to make the argument that these bills are immoral, unjust, and frankly a violation of human rights.” The governor, who assaulted a Guardian reporter in 2017, responded with an email that said: “I would like to better understand your thoughts and concerns. When can we get together to talk about it? Love, Dad.” Brooke Stroyke, a spokesperson for the governor, declined to comment to the Montana Free Press.

Here’s some more info:

David, who identifies as nonbinary and uses “he” and “they” pronouns, is the governor’s second oldest of four children. In an April 25 interview, he said he didn’t know what kind of impact lobbying his father, the governor, might have. But David said they felt strongly about using their connection and access to one of the state’s most powerful elected officials to bring more light to issues impacting LGBTQ+ Montanans. He said he initially reached out to his father over email, asking him “as your constituent and your son” to veto the legislation advancing toward his desk. “I felt somewhat of an obligation to speak with him about it. Otherwise I would regret the missed opportunity,” David said. The elder Gianforte responded hours later, according to an email exchange David provided to Montana Free Press, thanking David for writing about an issue that was important to him. “I would like to better understand your thoughts and concerns. When can we get together to talk about it?” the governor wrote, signing the email, “Love, Dad.” David Gianforte, a Bozeman resident with a background in computer science, hasn’t previously spoken publicly about his gender identity or his relationship with his father, who in 2021 became Montana’s first Republican governor in 16 years. He said his family, including siblings who live in other states, doesn’t typically discuss politics. David said that after he first told his parents he was gay in 2020, the family never talked about it at length again. Throughout the current legislative session, David said, he closely tracked the bills as they passed through the Republican-held chambers toward his father’s desk. They said they weighed whether to broach the topic with their father, and what might be risked in the process.

And here’s a quick recap of what’s going on in Montana:

Republicans in the Montana state House just voted to formally punish a member of the legislature, Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a trans woman who has been blocked from speaking in chamber since last week. Her crime? Vocalizing the harms of the anti-trans legislation that the state House was considering at the time. Zephyr is now not only blocked from speaking during floor sessions, but she can also no longer attend them, meaning she will have to vote remotely for the rest of the legislative session. The Democrat upset her Republican colleagues when she remarked that she hoped they saw the “blood on [their] hands” when they bowed their heads to pray, referencing the correlation between trans health care and suicide reduction in young people. Her Republican colleagues were at the time pushing a bill to ban gender affirming care for minors, one of several anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ pieces of legislation that Montana Republicans have introduced this legislative session. The others include a bill that would define sex as binary in state law and a bill to ban drag performances in most public spaces.

Let’s help David convince his father to reject these anti-trans bills. If you’re a Montana resident and/or voter, click here to contact Gianforte’s office to voice your opposition to these anti-trans bills.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/4/27/2166231/-MT-Gov-The-Guardian-Montana-governor-lobbied-by-non-binary-son-to-reject-anti-trans-bills

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