people nationwide need to study what's happening in Montana to protect trans kids and their families - ThreadSky

iwriteok.bsky.social • 2 days ago

people nationwide need to study what's happening in Montana to protect trans kids and their families

And it happens again!

SEVERAL Republicans cross the aisle, vote against a bill that would remove trans kids from their parents.

They do so even after another Republican threatens them with primaries.

29 Republicans flip this time!

Comments

synnviks.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's as though people respond when you put in Democrats who have things like "principles" that motivate them to take a stand and "fight" for what they believe instead of *checks notes* assuming the position any time the Republicans alter the terms of debate or a wealthy donors calls to complain

spookalucca.games•2 days ago

zooey and erin should be household names for all the amazing work they do for our community

albiserious.bsky.social•1 day ago

We can safely say that this didn’t happen thanks to Democrats throwing trans people under the boss for future Republican votes.

goreckis.co•1 day ago

It’s a number of different things, and results aren’t consistent, but I think the biggest factor is the republican infighting between the maga crew and the more traditional republicans who have been around forever.

vbluvsrvs.bsky.social•2 days ago

I would like to have studied what’s happening in Montana.

kippingdeadlift.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yay! A slim majority agree that people deserve to exist!

blogus.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yes, we need to all elect Zooey Zephyr.

pennypopken.bsky.social•2 days ago

Bravo, Montana!

gmjohnston.bsky.social•1 day ago

How did such a hateful idea even get to the point of a vote?

ericasjourney19.bsky.social•1 day ago

It's deep maga country up there. Need any more reasons than that?

kwienke.bsky.social•2 days ago

Maybe civil rights are everyone’s rights? Crazy thought, I know.

gillstonecowboy.bsky.social•2 days ago

Montana Senate has been really interesting. Freedom Caucus held most of the cards and majority on key committees. But 9 Republicans collaborated with Democrats to realign committees and pass a permanent renewal of Medicaid expansion.

kaitensatsuma.bsky.social•2 days ago

Hate this "lesser of two evils" shit - but considering the Opposition Party's best idea of opposition is TikToks and ping-pong paddles and singing as the one person screamed that the Tyrant's not wearing any clothes it seems like the better of the two.

aminaerin.bsky.social•1 day ago

Don’t forget pink suits smh

kaitensatsuma.bsky.social•1 day ago

They spent so much time trying to be the "Lesser Evil" they in fact became the Greater Evil

@iwriteok.bsky.social OH THAT'S ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD

voidcritter.bsky.social•2 days ago

I'm in Texas with over 80 bills introduced that target trans people, what can we do THIS legislative cycle that we aren't already

juno.bsky.social•1 day ago

boosting and clapping

johnnyrenton.bsky.social•2 days ago

I would love for one single reporter to say to any Democrat throwing trans people under the bus “but why do Republicans in Montana seem to be flipping in favour of protecting them?” Male those opportunistic fuckers sweat & blindside them with the fact that protecting trans people can be bipartisan

corvus6.bsky.social•2 days ago

Our whole legislative session has been extremely weird. There is a chunk of more moderate Repubs joining with Dems to block or support bunches of different things.

charleswilliam313.bsky.social•2 days ago

I live in Zooey's district and she is literally the only Democrat I can ever say I've been proud to have represent me.

rrkennison.bsky.social•2 days ago

Let's be clear what's happening in Montana — which absolutely could be happening elsewhere — is not just @zoandbehold.bsky.social being a talented rhetorician (which she is!) but also serious behind-the-scenes relationship building that's really turned the tide in just two short years.

lintilla42.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yep, exactly.

isfriday.bsky.social•2 days ago

Talk to @zoandbehold.bsky.social. she is destroying their platitudes and fear mongering

kittybatsasha.bsky.social•2 days ago

One of th more paradoxically influential things that happened was someone accidentally activated this alert mid session and couldn't figure out how to turn it off...
That event seemingly gave many Montana Republicans a "what the fuck are we actually doing here" moment.

https://bsky.app/profile/zoandbehold.bsky.social/post/3lgyctw2ur22v

killerbuni.bsky.social•2 days ago

I still don't really buy that this was an accident.

kittybatsasha.bsky.social•2 days ago

Elaborate... Seriously why?
To my knowledge there was nothing of particular significance and the Chair at the time was republican....

jonnypants.bsky.social•2 days ago

this is kind of like how it turns out that pro-abortion ballot initiatives have a good shot at winning in even the reddest of states.

raineyallthetime.bsky.social•2 days ago

It’s not great here. The story is that they were trying to make me just existing in public indecent exposure and then voted against doing that. That’s not a victory that’s an uncomfortably narrowly averted loss that never should have been a thing in the first place.

bobojam.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yeah I don’t see anything in the bill’s language that mentions taking trans kids from their parents either. It’s exactly like you say, it was trying to make being trans in public considered indecent exposure like they used to do to disabled people in the 1800s

slothetta.bsky.social•2 days ago

It's this bill https://legiscan.com/MT/bill/HB754/2025

"For the purposes of this subsection (1), a child transitioning gender with the support of a parent or guardian is considered in immediate or apparent danger of harm."

thevaginawhisperer.bsky.social•2 days ago

JFC 🤯

bobojam.bsky.social•1 day ago

My bad. I did a ctrl F for children and not child. Rookie mistake

tjdurrant.bsky.social•2 days ago

Generally liberty conservatives rather than evangelical.

natalie.is-extremely.gay•2 days ago

There’s one liberty conservative Republican rn, the Vermont governor, no one else.

linneaharts.bsky.social•2 days ago

Lotta liberty conservatives in NH passing transphobic bills unfortunately

lezoe.bsky.social•1 day ago

all this while "corpo" gavin newscum was busy throwing us under the bus with a far right lunatic

envy2024.bsky.social•2 days ago

How hard is it to vote against taking kids from their parents?? Geezz.

lizamazel.bsky.social•2 days ago

They have some other you-would-think-uncharacteristic-for-red-states policies. blanking at the moment but one has to do with employment.

they seem to have a streak of *actual* libertarianism, for better and for worse.

too bad they have that twat Gianforte and lost Tester. idk.

meelar.bsky.social•2 days ago

They just adopted a very solid YIMBY housing policy, legalizing duplexes statewide IIRC. But I don't think that Republicans in Long Island are persuadable in the same way.

archiesmom.bsky.social•1 day ago

Where is Loge?

votevaxresist.bsky.social•2 days ago

What’s happening??? A breakout of Sanity!!! Re-elect Tester and Bullock!

fuckswasticars.bsky.social•1 day ago

That's... unexpected.

Good though.

titaniumman91.bsky.social•2 days ago

I think we need more Midwest/Plains Democrat's who go to State schools and fewer coastal ones going to the ivies.

markopolo9018.bsky.social•1 day ago

This is just insane really hope this hatred stays away from Europe

peggylou2024.bsky.social•1 day ago

My thought is that may be one of the things that protects them in the primaries!

king-ste-ste-steve.bsky.social•2 days ago

Meanwhile Gavin Newsom is funding a new bus fleet to throw Trans people under.

lizamazel.bsky.social•2 days ago

yup. best to not automatically assume "blue" and "red" are diametrically opposed all the time.

I'm not saying there's a single GOP pol at the federal level left I can think of that garners my respect at the moment, or even governors; but there certainly are a number of sucky Dems & Newsom's one

boys-n-berry.bsky.social•2 days ago

Yeah, I live in SC and I suspect there’s a number of decent Republicans on a state level in states where it is more or less “the default.” My wife sent out emails to reps about a recent strict abortion ban and the one guy who responded (a rural R) said he’d been strongly against it from the jump.

afraidoftheworld.bsky.social•2 days ago

So what the hell are they Republicans for?

boys-n-berry.bsky.social•1 day ago

To clarify, I’m not saying these are people that I agree with or even would consider voting for, I’m just saying (noting the irony) that when they’re running in an area where a Democrat could not conceivably win, they don’t need to be braindead MAGA-thumping extremists to get votes.

boys-n-berry.bsky.social•1 day ago

Again, red state. Lotta people don’t look far past the party label

lizamazel.bsky.social•1 day ago

although I wonder if we could ever get to a point where conceivably some of these people could run independent and win.

the GOP needs to die.

lizamazel.bsky.social•1 day ago

tribalism, at this point. or "brand" or "team" if you'd rather. Dems have just been made a toxic brand for half the country at this point.

the alliances and meanings keep shifting. after all, GOP started as the party of Lincoln. hard to believe now...

waltermarek.bsky.social•2 days ago

I practice abuse and neglect law, and this type of stuff is batshit. But few people hate DHHR or child services like libertarians.

baj.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is sort of off topic but I'm not sure a state with a million people needs a hundred person state legislature. Really feels like overkill.

mybookstand.bsky.social•2 hours ago

https://www.intomore.com/impact/trumps-anti-trans-sports-bill-fails-in-the-senate/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=topic/congress

knightofashes.bsky.social•2 days ago

Need to get some of that juice over here in SD for sure

i-am-torgo.bsky.social•2 days ago

Same for WY 😥

amydebrota.bsky.social•1 day ago

I couldn’t agree with you more. Whatever she is doing, it sure is working. However, I suspect that it’s not so much what she’s doing as much as “who you know”. She’s trans and they know her. It’s hard to “other” someone you know. Its hard to “other” someone who tells you about their life, kids etc.

govpolish.bsky.social•1 day ago

The spirit of John Tester lives on.

dineyg.bsky.social•2 days ago

Thank you for being humane , we must protect and
Care for all kids who are big , downs, trans, tiny ...

lauraleeactor.bsky.social•2 days ago

I read that post as: "....They do so even after another Russian threatens them with primaries." so that's where my mind is at, at this point.

tworockthrowone.bsky.social•1 day ago

It’s the Trans reps! They have two trans members in the chamber and personal experience with an issue is one of the few things that changes politicians minds!!

Seen all the time in climate legislation. Money for prevention only happens after disaster destroys a politicians home.

rinceofdreams.bsky.social•2 days ago

Simple, Zooey Zephyr is the lone trans representative in Montanas state legislator, is a parent and makes simple calls and appeals and relatable to the normies that even Republicans are like "yeah these calls to criminalize trans people is pretty shitty ngl" bless her work.

smokeysasquatch.bsky.social•2 days ago

Don't forget SJ Howell. The first non-binary montana state representative.

rinceofdreams.bsky.social•2 days ago

That's awesome... it's almost like when you have representatives of different backgrounds and are real people with faces, names, and values, and these Republicans will actually get broken out of the Libs of Tiktok braindrain and culture war. like representation matters.

angelalampsbury.bsky.social•1 day ago

Her appeals are heartbreaking. I'd imagine it's harder to vote when you have to look her in the eye to do it.

rinceofdreams.bsky.social•1 day ago

Pretty easy for some of the chucklefucks like the Hinkles who do this shit and do it with a smile. Gross people

atdott.bsky.social•1 day ago

It’s interesting that the republican who spoke after Rep Zephyr found a way to argue against the bill on the basis of “parental rights.” Maybe it is useful to use conservative talking points to defend trans people. It gives R’s a way to vote for defending trans people without appearing weak

annettehas.bsky.social•1 day ago

at least one of the briefs in skrmetti did this, great to see that it can actually work

augustadsays.bsky.social•2 days ago

the Klan members are in green. that is all they are, brainwashed klan members.

prismatic360.bsky.social•1 day ago

We are protesting here in Montana and our trans community has a lotta allies! We won’t stop

willowmecreations.bsky.social•2 days ago

Preach.

mxpurpleleft.bsky.social•2 days ago

No, we need to stand up now and do something. My kid is non-binary. I’m not going to wait for this dictatorship to get so bad we can’t publicly organize. I’m not waiting on the Dems to save us. We have to save ourselves. His dictatorship is fragile now! In its infancy!

mxpurpleleft.bsky.social•2 days ago

Additionally: my group received a very interesting tip about Trump invading Mexico and another country I haven’t even seen speculation about (Not Canada, not Greenland, not Europe.) Pls contact me if you heard a similar rumor.

therealzman.bsky.social•2 days ago

Time to move

kfranzoni.bsky.social•2 days ago

Zooey Zephyr must have great political skills

raineyallthetime.bsky.social•2 days ago

She certainly does

123switch.bsky.social•2 days ago

She is incredible and we’d be so lucky to have her lead that shit heap of a party!

taralore.bsky.social•2 days ago

This this this

observingangel.bsky.social•2 days ago

She absolutely does. This was one of her speeches against the drag bill.

https://youtu.be/0MxLlT-2iGg?si=A7WDjjtR_hA-ESle

lizamazel.bsky.social•2 days ago

idk when this is from, but pretty sure SCOTUS--yes, this one--overturned a TN drag ban a while back now (23? 22?)

She is awesome, yes. Not quite accurate re the "3 items of clothing" tho: iirc the law was you had to wear at least 3 items of your "born" sex/gender or be arrested, at least in NY

observingangel.bsky.social•2 days ago

No, actually, SCOTUS didn't. That was a lower court that called it unconstitutional & it was appealed allowing the ban in TN to stand. SCOTUS declined to hear the case so the drag ban in TN stands. As to the 3 article rule, NY is often cited but..

https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/pithinthewind/supreme-court-drag-ban/article_b466dbb5-e8be-53c3-ab0d-1024c02fd62e.html

lizamazel.bsky.social•2 days ago

ah, thanks for the correction. well, re the TN ban, that's less good, but I suppose declining to hear the case is a hell of a lot better than taking it and overturning the lower court decision.

it SHOULD be open and shut First Amendment but well

observingangel.bsky.social•2 days ago

almost all 50 states passed some sort of clothing/gender rule in the mid 19th C & some sources say that the "3 article rule" was made up by police in order to harass & arrest trans people, which is very likely as nobody arrested my great grandma when she wore this bc she wasn't LGTBQ.

observingangel.bsky.social•2 days ago

Going to also warn that the bigots in the room definitely have been victim to extreme propaganda against LGTBQ & in particular, drag & transgender people and make some really wild claims about what apparently takes place in public libraries. They sound deranged, you can skip them as it's...stupid.

stardustpon.bsky.social•2 days ago

I think the people of Montana have a grasp of what “government overreach” is

foxglovebazaarium.bsky.social•1 day ago

Meanwhile West Virginia is……West Virginia-ing 🙃

druicybuns.bsky.social•2 days ago

Always nice to see us not do the exact worst possible thing. I hope we can keep up the momentum up, we're dangerously close to becoming cold Mississippi.

citrusoul.bsky.social•2 days ago

I don't want to be a cynic but the Republicans are probably opposing not because they don't think the state of being a trans minor isn't child abuse, but because their loyalty to parental sovereignty and ownership over their children trumps all. But this is a useful and hopeful observation

voidcritter.bsky.social•2 days ago

What do you reckon happened wrt the drag bill being voted down

lizamazel.bsky.social•2 days ago

ime that hypocrisy does not stop them/has not stopped them in other states. it is actually not a bad starting point to shoot them down with, I think, if you don't have a ZZ

obviouslycloe.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is definitely the case.

lurkyturkey.bsky.social•2 days ago

Immediately thought "I hope Sarah McBride is taking notes."

That speech was incredibly moving. SJ Howell's speech was great, too.

lurkyturkey.bsky.social•2 days ago

Er, I think this linked one was the vote tally after SJ Howell's speech. Zooey Zephyr's speech was the unnamed one I was referencing above.

mikusa.bsky.social•2 days ago

What is wrong with MEN?

witchywhosit.bsky.social•2 days ago

It’s frustrating that it seems like Republicans are the only ones that will actually vote for their (some times mismatched) principles when it inconvenient.

witchywhosit.bsky.social•2 days ago

I know there are Dems at the state level in places too, but they either don’t get elevated or try to be as quiet as possible about it

mossonrocks68.bsky.social•2 days ago

In this case it sure looks like a lot of Democrats voted against it too. Will get actual numbers and report back

witchywhosit.bsky.social•2 days ago

For sure. It’s just frustrating at the federal level when there seem to be a strategic amount of Dems that vote along conservative lines just so the rest can shrug and say they tried.

witchywhosit.bsky.social•2 days ago

That’s also a gross simplification, but the problem to me is that I feel that way and the Dem messaging never does anything to counteract it

groundhog0.bsky.social•1 day ago

Parent's Rights! Parent's Rights! Par... wait, not yours.
Maybe some of them are finally noticing the hypocrisy. Maybe.

jaynefracture.bsky.social•2 days ago

The truth is that it's hard for any decent human being to maintain transphobia when faced with a trans person who is kind, intelligent, and unwilling to give up her right to equal treatment

We need more Zooey Sephyrs in prominent positions 🥰

samb123.bsky.social•1 day ago

@hankgreen.bsky.social at least there's some good news 💜💜💜

lintilla42.bsky.social•2 days ago

This is how we win.

trashbear-actual.bsky.social•1 day ago

Montana conservatisim has historically been a lot more of a libertarian vibe. Really hoping that vibe comes back. Gianforte is a shame. This is inspiring to see.

kostchristian.bsky.social•2 days ago

Removing kids from their parents? What world is it that we are living in ?!?!

binkytom.bsky.social•2 days ago

Some of them know the long-term risks of violating parental rights so extremely. I wonder what percentage think removing kids for actual physical and sexual abuse is a good idea. In other words, good result, but because they don't think government should have any say on how parents raise children

scooterbones.bsky.social•2 days ago

Oh hey, it's everyone's favorite radical badass championing extremely marginal bipartisanship again

kaitensatsuma.bsky.social•2 days ago

Gotta do something to keep the death camps closed while trying to convince a completely fucking brainwashed voter base that the Democratic Party is just a second Republican Party and organize the replacement.

vtkim.bsky.social•1 day ago

Horrifying.

oopsallmuffintop.bsky.social•1 day ago

Someone needs to @ all the Dems

yeahbutnahbut.bsky.social•2 days ago

maybe this is why Vasili ‘wished to have seen Montana’?

cubered.bsky.social•2 days ago

it's been a weirdly positive session. my union was scared as shit going in, but we've had very little bad news. Gianforte is also being reasonable. idk!!

mendur.bsky.social•2 days ago

To protect ALL kids and their families.
We don't want the government deciding who gets to keep their kids based on whatever fake issue will rile up their base.

withoutpity.bsky.social•1 day ago

Did they go on on a fascist podcast to concede the transphobes were right and coordinate their outfits?

ryderofchaos.bsky.social•1 day ago

Clearly James Cameron has returned to the meridian trench to raise the bar from the depths once again

tinmanbs.bsky.social•19 hours ago

I spotted a MAGAt scruple! I thought they were mythical, like unicorns.

robotblue.bsky.social•2 days ago

You mean people actually obtaining a conscience and soul again? Crazy!

mrwonderous.bsky.social•2 days ago

Keep 👏 this 👏 energy 👏 up

wednesday284.bsky.social•1 day ago

Have we not learned anything from history? Leave Families Alone!

soychoo99.bsky.social•2 days ago

This'll hopefully happen in Texas as well, some truly horrifying shit put forward lately

vanailwood.bsky.social•2 days ago

Our air, water, and soil are literally littered with "forever chemicals" yet some people can't grasp that this may have had any effect on some genetic level. Nah, they're all just being dramatic!

Comments

Posting Rules

Reply