#montana legislature

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

A Montana Republican is pushing a bill to bar those who have received a COVID-19 vaccine or suffer from "long COVID" from donating blood—a proposal some critics say could effectively eradicate the state's supply of blood.

Formally introduced in the Montana State Legislature on February 17, House Bill 645 proposes a misdemeanor offense for anyone who knowingly donates whole blood, plasma, blood products, blood derivatives, human tissue, organs, or bones containing "gene-altering proteins, nanoparticles, high-count spike proteins from long COVID-19, or other isolates introduced by mRNA or DNA vaccines, mRNA or DNA chemotherapies, or other novel mRNA or DNA pharmaceutical biotechnologies."

The legislation, which has yet to receive a committee vote, comes over what the bill's sponsor, Representative Greg Kmetz, described as fears from his constituents of ensuring a "safe" blood supply—even as experts assert that it is safe to donate blood after receiving a COVID vaccine or being diagnosed with COVID.

"Many of my constituents question just because we hear these two words, 'safe and effective,' a million plus times, does that make them true?" Kmetz asked colleagues in a hearing on the bill last week. "[...] These are the people that are concerned about our blood supply. These are the people that put me in this office. These are the people that I represent."

Kmetz has been backed by fellow Republicans, Rep. Jodee Etchart, who is the bill's requester, and Rep. Lola Sheldon-Galloway.

Many of the concerns pushed by the bill's proponents often cited uncredible or even biased information to support them.

Some who testified in favor of the bill claimed, without evidence, that friends and family died prematurely as a result of receiving the vaccine. There is currently no proof linking the COVID vaccine to premature death.

Another woman cited a Facebook post pushing claims that COVID-19 vaccines turned the blood of embalmed corpses into fibrous clots, a finding medical fact checkers have already debunked as the result of a heavily flawed study.

Others cited concerns over a spike in myocarditis cases among teens who received some types of vaccine, which U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data found to be rare.

Meanwhile, opponents of the bill, which included multiple medical professionals, said its language was overly broad and would, in effect, decimate Montana's blood and organ donor supply.

According to data from the CDC, approximately two-thirds of Montanans have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while just 3% of eligible donors nationwide donate blood. Cliff Numark, the Senior Vice President of Donor Services for blood supplier nonprofit Vitalant, said the bill would cause "devastating harm" to the state's healthcare system, and potentially reduce the state's overall blood supply by as much as 80%.

Numark said there is no test available to verify whether the vaccine was in someone's bloodstream, making the bill impossible to comply with if passed into law.

In recent weeks, Vitalant has urged blood donors to come forward amid a shortage that has been worsened by adverse weather. Nationwide, the American Red Cross, which in January 2022 declared its first-ever blood crisis, says that someone in the U.S. needs blood and/or platelets every two seconds.

"Our blood is safe," Vicky Byrd, CEO of the Montana Nurses Association, told lawmakers. "Our scientists and our practitioners, we have to trust them. We know what they're doing."

While COVID-19 patients are barred from donating blood while infected with the virus—primarily because of the precondition for donors to be in "good health" when donating—all blood donation groups and the American Red Cross have maintained that it is safe to donate blood after receiving the vaccine.

"Blood donations from individuals who have received a COVID-19 vaccine approved or authorized for use in the U.S. are safe for transfusion," Red Cross officials told Newsweek in a statement.

"Similar to other vaccines such as those for measles, mumps or influenza, COVID-19 vaccines are designed to generate an immune response to help protect an individual from illness, but vaccine components themselves do not replicate through blood transfusions or alter a blood recipient's DNA."

"In summary, there is no scientific evidence that demonstrates adverse outcomes from the transfusions of blood products collected from vaccinated donors and, therefore, no medical reason to distinguish or separate blood donations from individuals who have received a COVID-19 vaccination," they said.

Though the bill's opponents said there was no evidence to support a ban on vaccinated donors giving blood, the bill's proponents said that was because studies have not yet been done.

From a practical standpoint, Numark said a ban would result in "unnecessary and unconscionable" death.

"This house bill would criminalize the act of attempting to altruistically donate blood," Numark said. "It would decimate the blood supply."

Newsweek reached out to Greg Kmetz for comment.

#us politics #news #newsweek #2023 #montana #republicans #conservatives #gop #gop policy #gop platform #blood donations #covid vaccine #covidー19 #coronavirus pandemic #coronavirus vaccine #Montana Legislature #long COVID #House Bill 645 #Greg Kmetz #Jodee Etchart #Lola Sheldon-Galloway #center for disease control and prevention #Cliff Numark #Vitalant #American Red Cross #Vicky Byrd #Montana Nurses Association

[lenbryant]

A trans victory in Montana.

#zooey zephyr #montana #Montana legislature #politics #transgender #trans rights

[saywhat-politics]

#montana #legislature #democrat #zooey zephyr

[environmentalwatch]

Student Activists Win in Montana

Student activists prevail in a climate change trial that’s been pending in Montana for years. In Montana, the state constitution was revised in 1972 to protect the environment of the state. “The state and each person shall maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations,” reads Article IX, Part IX. And it goes on to require that “the…

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#environmental rights #kathy seeley #legal activism #Montana #montana state legislature #student activisim

[self-loving-vampire]

In the past three years, as bills targeting gender-affirming care for transgender youth have circulated through state legislatures, some anti-trans activists have thrown around staggering detransition rates—often claiming figures as high as 80% to 90%. These numbers have surfaced everywhere from Montana's legislative hearings on gender-affirming care bans to segments on Fox News. Chloe Cole herself has echoed these claims multiple times. Now, consider this: conservative estimates place the transgender population in the United States at over 1.5 million people. If these extremely high rates were accurate, we'd expect to see around 1.2 million detransitioners. Therapist offices would be slammed with people wanting to “change back,” hearing rooms would be packed to the brim with detransitioners, and prime time news-hour specials would feature… well, people other than Chloe Cole on a regular basis. So when Seven News releases a special stating that they are going to cover “the most controversial topic ever covered,” featuring the same faces that we have seen in multiple ads across the world, people understandingly become skeptical. If detransitioners are so rare, why is Chloe Cole’s face the one they always use? ... It's worth noting that Seven News didn't just recycle the same detransitioners commonly featured in other anti-trans specials to suggest a sweeping wave of detransitioning. The network also included images of a transgender individual who has not detransitioned, implicitly suggesting she regretted her transition.

The far right can find so few detransitioners to fuel its narrative that they are even using images of people who are not detransitioners without permission, on top of just flying the same handful of people all over the country to repeat the same bullshit in every state.

The lack of a detransition wave has even played a key role in court cases. Earlier this year, when asked to substantiate the claim that gender affirming care results in youth who will eventually regret their decisions, the state of Florida ran into a problem. They could not find a single detransitioner in the state of Florida to support the claim. As a result, the judge in the case found the facts in favor of the plaintiffs opposing Florida’s gender affirming care ban. Even in a state as populous as Florida, which has over 90,000 transgender people according to expert estimates, detransitioners appear rare.

And, as the post says, even the detransitioners that exist are generally not useful to the transphobe narrative, since they most often do so due to a lack of support and often retransition when in a better situation.

Importantly, transphobes never seem to actually care about the dignity or healthcare access of detransitioners or anything. Only about banning trans healthcare as a whole because "what if people regret it?" They are not subtle about this either. They constantly refer to trans people (detransitioned or not) as "mutilated", "damaged", "ruined", and so on.

#transphobia #100 #1k

[yourdailyqueer]

Zooey Zephyr

Gender: Transgender woman

Sexuality: Bisexual

DOB: 29 August 1988

Ethnicity: White - American

Occupation: Politician (Democrat), activist

Note: One of the first trans woman to be elected to the Montana legislature

#Zooey Zephyr #lgbt #lgbtq #bisexuality #trans femme #transgender #trans woman #bisexual #1988 #white #politician #activist #first #popular #popular post #300

[wilwheaton]

Republicans across the country are waging a movement to remove and censure Democratic lawmakers simply for speaking out against the GOP — a movement that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, is saying is the next natural step after the GOP-backed attempted coup on January 6, 2021. On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez spoke at a rally with Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., and Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones (D), who Republicans voted to expel from the legislature earlier this month. At the rally, she said that the January 6 attack was just one of the first steps toward the GOP's goal of total political control; rather than a large, violent coup, the GOP is implementing a slow takeover across the country. "For [Republicans], January 6 was just a dress rehearsal. Because, legally, let's not lose the plot: They were trying to block a duly elected official, in this case the president of the United States, from taking office," she said. "Legislatures across the country looked at that and [said], 'you know what? Let's try to get Representative Jones out from office. Let's try to get Rep. Zooey Zephyr in Montana out of office. Let's try to kick out the people because we cannot beat them,'" continued Ocasio-Cortez. "That is their motive."

AOC: “January 6 was a dress rehearsal” for GOP campaign to expel Democrats

[rapeculturerealities]

As Predicted, Anti-Drag Laws Are Being Weaponized to Silence Trans People | The Mary Sue

A few months ago, Adria Jawort and others testified before the Montana legislature that its law banning drag events at public libraries would be used to target and silence transgender people. Just as she and others anticipated, it’s now being used to bar her from speaking about LGBTQ+ history.

Jawort, a Cheyenne writer and transgender woman, had been scheduled to speak at Butte-Silver Bow Public Library about the history of the two-spirit tradition in Native American culture. “Two-spirit” is an indigenous term for the alternative gender status of tribe members who have both male and female traits, a fascinating example of how trans and nonbinary people have always existed in all cultures and societies. The library canceled her talk—again, a history lecture, not a drag show—out of fear that they would run afoul of the state’s new anti-drag law and risk losing their public funding.

#Trans #Transgender #Transphobia #lgbtqia #Two spirit #Montana #Indigenous

[transfloridaresources]

[Photo ID: Article screen cap on a light background. Title text reads: ''I can't leave all the people who can't leave,' A Montana trans activist shows solidarity with trans youth & siblings in Florida--& vice versa. Adria L. Jawort. Dec. 13, 2023.' A color photo of a white adult standing outside in the sun, wearing sunglasses and smiling slightly, holding a sign that reads 'Florida Man Says Trans Rights.' /End ID]

Here's also a wonderful piece written by @indigitrans about the October 2023 Trans Youth March in Orlando (@transyouthmarch). Read the full thing here: https://adriajawort.substack.com/p/i-cant-leave-all-the-people-who-cant In the new year & facing more legal woes, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and frightened. One of the reasons that I started these accounts last year was to bring trans people together and remind ourselves that we're not alone. We have a lot of support, especially from each other. There are many trans Floridians who cannot leave the state or just plain don't want to. Why should we? And for what reason, anyway, when this is legislature that is creeping across the US and worldwide, regardless. Moving will not prevent this from happening. We must learn to build community and resources. We must look to other groups who have faced this before us, we must SUPPORT other groups who are still oppressed alongside us. The same systems oppress us all. None of us are free until we're all free. The stories that get the most attention are always the stories of panic and outrage. Don't believe them. There's many trans Floridians still here and thriving. We're resourceful and resilient and we're looking out for others too and vice versa. We're not alone and we didn't all leave and that is not the only answer. Our stories might not have the punch of a quick TikTok about Ron DeSantis kidnapping trans kids but most often the truth of any resistance cannot be summed up so quickly. It's persistence and resourcefulness. It's building community and caring for each other every. single. day. Anyway, we're all amazing & deserve to be here & you should internalize that message above any others saying otherwise. Don't listen to ignorant, hateful people just because they're loud sometimes. We have more support than not. And we're not going anywhere.

#florida #orlando #trans #transgender #adria l jawort #trans youth march #trans positivity #trans solidarity #described

[reasonsforhope]

"Two years ago, the biggest battles in state legislatures were over voting rights. Democrats loudly — and sometimes literally — protested as Republicans passed new voting restrictions in states like Georgia, Florida and Texas. This year, attention has shifted to other hot-button issues, but the fight over the franchise has continued. Republicans have enacted dozens of laws this year that will make it harder for some people to vote in future elections. 

But this year, voting-rights advocates got some significant wins too: States — controlled by Democrats and Republicans — have enacted more than twice as many laws expanding voting rights as restricting them, although the most comprehensive voter-protection laws passed in blue states. In all, 39 states and Washington, D.C., have changed their election laws in some way this year...

Where voting rights were expanded in 2023 (so far)

Unlike two years ago, though, we’d argue that the bigger story of this year’s legislative sessions was all the ways states made it easier to vote. As of July 21, according to the Voting Rights Lab, [which runs an excellent and completely comprehensive tracker of election-related bills], 834 bills had been introduced so far this year expanding voting rights, and 64 had been enacted. What’s more, these laws are passing in states of all hues.

Democratic-controlled jurisdictions (Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island and Washington) enacted 33 of these new laws containing voting-rights expansions, but Republican-controlled states (Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming) were responsible for 23 of them. The remaining eight became law in states where the two parties share power (Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia).

That said, not all election laws are created equal, and the most comprehensive expansive laws passed in blue states. For example: 

New Mexico adopted a major voting-rights package that will automatically register New Mexicans to vote when they interact with the state’s Motor Vehicle Division, allow voters to request absentee ballots for all future elections without the need to reapply each time and restore the right to vote to felons who are on probation or parole. The law also allows Native Americans to register to vote and receive ballots at official tribal buildings and makes it easier for Native American officials to get polling places set up in pueblos and on tribal land.

Minnesota followed suit with a law also establishing automatic voter registration and a permanent absentee-voting list. The act allows 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote too. Meanwhile, a separate new law also reenfranchises felons on probation or parole.

Michigan enacted eight laws implementing a constitutional amendment expanding voting rights that voters approved last year. Most notably, the laws guarantee at least nine days of in-person early voting and allow counties to offer as many as 29. The bills also allow voters to fix mistakes on their absentee-ballot envelopes so that their ballot can still count, track the status of their ballot online, and use student, military and tribal IDs as proof of identification. 

Connecticut became the sixth state to enact a state-level voting-rights act, which bars municipalities from discriminating against minority groups in voting, requires them to provide language assistance to certain language minority groups and requires municipalities with a record of voter discrimination to get preclearance before changing their election laws. The Nutmeg State also approved 14 days of early voting and put a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would legalize no-excuse absentee voting.

No matter its specific provisions, each of these election-law changes could impact how voters cast their ballots in future elections, including next year’s closely watched presidential race. There’s a good chance your state amended its election laws in some way this year, so make sure you double-check the latest rules in your state before the next time you vote."

-via FiveThirtyEight (via FutureCrunch), July 24, 2023

#voting rights #voting matters #united states #us politics #new mexico #Minnesota #Michigan #Connecticut #voting rights act #ballot box #civil rights #elections #election 2024 #election law #constitutional amendments #felon voting #native american #first nations

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Today the far-right dominated Montana legislature, after first silencing her, plans to censure and expel its first elected trans woman member, Zooey Zephyr, just as the Tennessee legislature did to two young Black men. 

All because she dared to condemn legislation that will kill and torture trans children -- something that Democratic Party leaders and Joe Biden have refused to condemn, much less take action against.

These attacks go far beyond the scope of electoral politics. They are attacks on the right of oppressed people to be represented or even speak on matters that directly affect them. Fortunately, there is a growing fight-back movement to #LetHerSpeak. I have no doubt that there will be a fierce struggle to restore her seat if she is expelled, as there was for Justin Jones and Justin Pearson in Tennessee.

"Blue check" fans of Elon Musk are now openly calling for the public executions of trans people, their families and their health care providers. This is a fight for the whole working class and progressive movement. 

If you haven't spoken up, if you haven't joined a protest, if you haven't paid attention -- the time is now. 

- redguard

Artwork by Lee Leslie

#ProtectTransKids #Zooey Zephyr #Montana #LetHerSpeak #protest #solidarity #LGBTQ #TransRightsAreHumanRights #Tennessee #Justin Jones #Justin Pearson #BlackLivesMatter #workers #class struggle #antifascist #Elon Musk #redguard

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

I almost started this by saying, “well, this is it—things can’t get any dumber,” but then I remembered how many times that statement has turned out to be wrong. What triggered it this time was learning about Montana Senate Bill 235, because if that bill became law, schools in that state would be forbidden to teach science.

Ah. I see that, even after all this time, some of you are still reluctant to believe me when I report things like this. “I’ve trusted you so far, Kevin, to the point that I was about to start writing you a series of large checks on a monthly basis. But now I’m not so sure, because this cannot be real.” But it is. Here’s the Montana state legislature admitting it, and here’s the text of the bill:

“WHEREAS, the purpose of K-12 education is to educate children in the facts of our world to better prepare them for their future …, and to that end children must know the difference between scientific fact and scientific theory; and

WHEREAS, a scientific fact is observable and repeatable, and if it does not meet these criteria, it is a theory that is defined as speculation and is for higher education to explore, debate, and test to ultimately reach a scientific conclusion of fact or fiction.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

NEW SECTION. Section 1. Requirements for science instruction in schools.

(1) Science instruction may not include subject matter that is not scientific fact.

(2) The board of public education may not include in content area standards any standard requiring curriculum or instruction in a scientific topic that is not scientific fact.

(3) The superintendent of public instruction shall ensure that any science curriculum guides developed by the office of public instruction include only scientific fact.

(4)(a) The trustees of a school district shall ensure that science curriculum and instructional materials, including textbooks, used in the district include only scientific fact.

(b) Beginning July 1, 2025, a parent may appeal the trustees’ lack of compliance … to the county superintendent and, subsequently, to the superintendent of public instruction….

(5) The legislature intends for this section to be strictly enforced and narrowly interpreted.

(6) As used in this section, “scientific fact” means an indisputable and repeatable observation of a natural phenomenon.”

Emphasis added. So if this were to become law, kids in grades K-12 could be instructed only about “scientific facts,” and anything that isn’t a “scientific fact” would be purged from their textbooks. Just the facts—what could be wrong with that, the sponsor of this bill would probably say if you asked him? But of course the kicker is section six, which limits the definition of “scientific fact” to “an indisputable and repeatable observation of a natural phenomenon.” Indisputable. Under this bill, anything that can be disputed would fail to qualify as a “scientific fact,” and could not be taught to the children of Montana.

Taken literally, that would be pretty much everything short of a purely objective measurement. The sponsor probably doesn’t intend it to be taken that literally, and even if he did, stuff like basic chemistry and physics might survive. So kids would still learn to do more than, like, count things. But the word “indisputable” would dramatically limit what can be taught as “science.” (I realize I probably don’t need to explain this to you, but allow me to vent for a couple of paragraphs.) In fact, you could argue this would eliminate the scientific method itself, which is fundamentally about disputing things and trying to disprove hypotheses.

Well, it wouldn’t eliminate it, you just couldn’t teach kids in Montana about it.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Daniel Emrich, isn’t wrong to say that scientific facts should be “observable” and “repeatable,” but he’s plainly unclear on the concept of “theories,” as the preface to the bill shows. Theories are not “defined as speculation.” A particular “theory” might be speculative if it hasn’t been tested, but I think scientists would call that a “hypothesis.” A hypothesis that stands up to testing might get promoted to a “theory,” but that doesn’t mean it becomes “indisputable.” My understanding is that people are still disputing some of what Newton and Einstein thought about gravity, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t tell kids about it. Studies have repeatedly shown it works, even in Montana.

My guess would be that what Emrich is really after here is stuff like the “theory of evolution” or the “theory of climate change,” without actually saying so. He is free to dispute those, but he’s got First Amendment problems with trying to ban teaching them. And I agree that as the preface says, children “must know the difference between scientific fact and scientific theory,” but legislators should too.

To give credit where credit is due, Emrich has also sponsored a bill that would eliminate jail penalties for littering, and I’m completely on board with that one.

#us politics #news #op eds #lowering the bar #montana #2023 #science #trust the science #science bans #Senate Bill 235 #Montana state legislature #republicans #conservatives #gop #scientific facts #Daniel Emrich

[saywhat-politics]

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — The eldest son of one of America’s most infamous seditionists is building a new life since breaking free from his father’s control — juggling work, college classes and volunteer firefighting.

And Dakota Adams has tossed one more ball in the air this year: a Democratic campaign for Montana’s Legislature.

He also plans to sell the rifles, body armor and tactical gear he used to wear to anti-government protests alongside his father — Stewart Rhodes, founder of the Oath Keepers. It’s all part of an effort to push away the last vestiges of what Adams describes as an isolating and abusive upbringing that nearly ruined him, his mother and his siblings.

“I decided that I’m going to double down on betting on the electoral process,” Adams said in a recent interview.

Adams knows it won’t be easy running as a Democrat for the House in the deep red northwestern corner of Montana. The district covers northern Lincoln County, a mecca for militia members or sympathizers and doomsday preppers. Republican Donald Trump won 74% of the county vote in the 2020 presidential race.

#montana #democrat #dakota adams #stewart rhodes #oath keepers

[radiofreederry]

A trans woman won a state legislature seat in Montana

[odinsblog]

“We are seeing a coordinated effort from far-right organizations in the country who are pitching these kinds of bills.

It's why the language matches so similarly to other bills. It's why the openings of representatives who are pushing these anti-trans bills sound eerily similar to the openings of legislators in other areas.

It's why the same handful of, quote, ‘detransitioners’ are flying around the country to speak on these bills.

And I think what we saw that at the beginning, because it's important to remember that these anti-trans bills began initially with a failed attempt at bathroom bans, and then their second attempt to sort of find a way in, was in sports bans. But their goal was never to simply pass a sports ban.

The goal was, as was stated in one of the conservative conventions this year, the goal was the elimination of trans people from public life, entirely.

And we have seen that escalation of legislation over the past few years.

We have seen it go, and now we're seeing these healthcare bans beginning to take root. We're seeing healthcare bans not just for youth, but in Missouri, adult healthcare bans. And in Florida, we bills that make it so that a trans child could be taken away from their parents. And Florida just passed a bathroom ban that makes it incredibly difficult to be a trans person in public.

So we're seeing not only coordinated efforts from far-right groups in the country to pass anti-trans legislation, but we are seeing an escalation of those attacks with an ultimate goal of removing trans people from public life entirely.

And that is why trans people and our allies are standing in our communities and standing in our legislatures and bringing attention to the urgency of this situation.”

—ZOEY ZEPHYR, Montana’s first openly transgender representative, speaking about Montana’s Senate Bill 99, trans representation, and anti-LGBTQ legislation currently sweeping Republican states.

#sb99 #politics #republicans #lgbt #zoey zephyr #homophobia #montana #transphobia #lgbtq #red states #bathroom bans

[yourdailyqueer]

SJ Howell

Gender: Non binary (they/them)

Sexuality: Queer

DOB: 3 July 1980  

Ethnicity: White - American

Occupation: Politician (Democrat), activist

Note: First non-binary person to be elected to the state legislature in Montana

#SJ Howell #queerness #lgbt #lgbtq #lgbt politicians #non binary #queer #1980 #white #american #politician #activist #first