Last Shot at Equality

For nearly a year Montanans have heard about an outdated and unconstitutional line in the state’s criminal code. This code, which was struck down in 1997, stated homosexual acts between two consenting adults was a felony with strict punishments.

The code initially received attention when it was discovered that the Montana Republican Party platform contained language in support of this unconstitutional law.

This session. Sen. Facey (D-Missoula) introduced legislation to remove this unenforceable law from our books. It received overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate. However, it received a much colder response in the House, where it was killed in the House Judiciary Committee.

Today, Rep. Diane Sands, the first openly gay member of the Montana legislature, attempted to force a full floor debate of the bill. When introducing her motion, Rep. Sands spoke about the impact that these words have on people and the value we hold in our state constitution. The sentiment was echoed by Republican Rep. Steve Gibson, who spoke about the principles his party purports to believe.

Ultimately though, the measure was unsuccessful in the House when a majority of Republicans reinforced their commitment to keeping this unconstitutional law on our books.

However, one small victory that was seen today, was the fact that 51 members of the House voted to get this bill out of committee and onto the full floor. This is the largest number of House members to every should apparent support for the bill.