Case Update, Friday, February 7, 2025
Earlier today, a District Court denied the State of Montana's Motion to Dismiss this case. The State argued discrimination on the basis of gender identity is not a form of sex discrimination, relying in part on the Trump Administration's recent Executive Orders related to gender identity. The Court rejected those contentions and denied the State's motion to dismiss.
This case originated at the Montana Human Rights Bureau and is important because it relies on interpretation of the anti-discrimination statutes contained in the Montana Human Rights Act and Governmental Code of Fair Practices. The State has repeatedly argued that it is not illegal to discriminate against an individual on the basis of gender identity, and Courts and agencies have repeatedly rejected that argument.
Case Background and Additional Information
The ACLU-MT and A&M Law represent M.B. and M.B.’s parents in challenging a Montana Human Rights Commission (“MHRC”) decision which improperly determined that discrimination based on gender identity was not sex discrimination. This commission decision is directly at odds with the United States Supreme Court’s holding in Bostock v. Clayton County, Ga. as well as the Montana Department of Labor and Industry’s decision in Maloney v. Yellowstone County, et al. which both recognize that discrimination based on gender identity is sex discrimination.
M.B. is a non-binary Montanan, who has a non-binary sex designation on their Montana birth certificate. M.B., as a minor applicant, was denied a Montana driver’s license when they wrote “N.B.” representing nonbinary on the application form. This challenge appeals the decision of the MHRC to a Montana district court in Missoula where the district court will act as a reviewing appellate court.
