Judge chides Montana for refusing order on transgender law
A Montana judge says state health officials made “calculated violations” of his order earlier this year to temporarily stop enforcing a state law that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A Montana judge on Monday said state health officials made “calculated violations” of his order to temporarily stop enforcing a law that would prevent transgender people from changing the gender on their birth certificate unless they had undergone surgery.
District Judge Michael Moses said he would promptly consider motions for contempt based on continued violations of his April order, which he clarified in a verbal order at a hearing on Thursday. Just hours after that hearing, the Republican-run state said it would defy the order.
The state, Moses wrote, engaged “in needless legal gymnastics to attempt to rationalize their actions and their calculated violations of the order." He called the state's interpretation of his earlier order “demonstrably ridiculous.”
The state Department of Public Health and Human Services and the Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
