She's totally a closeted lesbian. So says my very trusted tipster who adds this about Montana state GOP Rep. Kristin Hansen: "She lives with a woman who she introduces to others as her 'friend' but has confirmed to a handful of people is her partner. The partner's ex has also been telling people what's up." Hansen was first elected to office last year with the backing of the Tea Party.
Last month Hansen failed in her attempt to issue a statewide repeal of all local LGBT rights in Montana, a law that would have only affected the small town of Missoula, the one place in the state with LGBT anti-discrimination protections. According to my source, Hansen will be outed at an upcoming meeting of University of Montana students.
Montana GOP state Rep. Bill Peterson claims that since the state legislature blocked a recent move to decriminalize homosexuality, there are happily still two laws which he can use to persecute gay people.
According to Peterson, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, there are at least two prosecutable offenses—felonies punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. One is the "recruitment" of non-gays. "Homosexuals can't go out into the heterosexual community and try to recruit people, or try to enlist them in homosexual acts," Peterson says. He provides an example: "'Here, young man, your hormones are raging. Let's go in this bedroom, and we'll engage in some homosexual acts. You'll find you like it.'"
Peterson hasn't actually seen this happen, he says, because "I don't associate with that group of people at all... I've associated with mainstream people all my life." The other offense, in Peterson's legal opinion, is the public display of homosexuality, since he believes the Supreme Court's decision only applies to private acts behind closed doors. Being gay in public, he says, is a wholly different matter: "In my mind, if they were engaging in acts in public that could be construed as homosexual, it would violate that statute. It has to be more than affection. It has to be overt homosexual acts of some kind or another... If kissing goes to that extent, yes. If it's more than that, yes."
The head of a local lawyers group clarifies: "The statute will not be enforced as written—ever. We take our marching orders not only from the legislature but from the courts in which we appear."
Yesterday the Montana House blocked an attempt to bring a bill decriminalizing homosexuality to a vote before the the full body. Earlier this month the GOP-led Montana House Judiciary Committee tabled the bill, but last night openly gay Rep. Diana Sands tried to force the issue before the full chamber.
The motion by Rep. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, to blast Senate Bill 276 out of the House Judiciary Committee, received 51 votes in the 100-member House but failed to secure the 60 votes needed. The vote was 51-47. The Senate passed SB276, by Sen. Tom Facey, D-Missoula, 35-14, but the House Judiciary Committee tabled the bill. Before the court ruling in 1997, gays and lesbians in Montana risked being charged with felonies and if convicted, they could have faced a maximum penalty of a 10-year prison sentence and a $50,000 fine, said Sands, a lesbian. "It's been almost 15 years since the Supreme Court ruling," Sands said. "It's about time we removed that language from the books. Let's bring it to the floor and debate it and take action on it."
The laws against gay sex remain on the books despite being declared unconstitutional by the Montana Supreme Court in 1997, a ruling echoed several years later by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Tea Party-backed GOP Rep. Kristen Hansen's attempt to overturn all LGBT rights laws in Montana has been sent back to committee in the state Senate, probably never to be heard from again.
The Senate Local Government Committee passed House Bill 516 last week. But the bill was returned to the committee Tuesday and chairman Sen. Jon Sonju says it is doubtful the measure will go to the Senate floor. Sonju says he moved the measure back to committee because it doesn't have the support of Senate leaders. The proposal, carried by Republican Rep. Kristin Hansen, drew lengthy testimony during its hearings in the House and Senate. Supporters said the bill would overturn an unconstitutional ordinance that infringes on the state's authority.
Missoula, the only Montana town with LGBT protections and the primary target of Hansen's bill, is safe for now.
It's still technically illegal to be gay in Montana, thanks to their GOP-led House Judiciary Committee which today voted down a bill which would have brought the state in line with the Supreme Court's landmark 2003 ruling in Lawrence Vs. Texas. Somebody needs to orchestrate an arrest by a gay-friendly cop and then sue the fuck out of Montana, pronto.
Montana's House yesterday voted 60-39 to approve Rep. Kristin Hansen's bill to ban all local LGBT rights ordinances in the state.
The House took the first steps Tuesday toward striking down Missoula's 2010 ordinance that bans discrimination against city residents based on their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Missoula's Democratic legislators were infuriated by the passage of House Bill 516, by Rep. Kristin Hansen, R-Havre. Her bill passed 60-39 and faces a final House vote before heading to the Senate. Sixty Republicans voted for it. All 32 Democrats voted opposed it, joined by seven Republicans. One Republican was absent.
Rep. Sue Malek (D-Missoula) denounced the bill: "Leave us alone. Leave us alone. For heaven's sake. We're one little town in a corner of Montana that has nothing to do with you. You know, I mean, why can't you let people live like they need to live their lives. Why can't they love who they want to love? Why? I don't understand it."
The Tea Party-backed bill to ban local LGBT rights ordinances in Montana today passed a committee vote and will move forward to the full state House.
The committee voted to endorse House Bill 516, by Rep. Kristin Hansen, R-Havre, which would prohibit local governments from enacting ordinances or other policies like Missoula's that include, as a protected class from discrimination, any groups not included under the Montana Human Rights Act. The panel also voted to table HB514, by Rep. Edie McClafferty, D-Butte, which would have expanded the Montana Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression and sexual orientation. The move to table came after a motion to pass her bill failed.
Missoula, home to the University of Montana, is the only city in the state that presently protects LGBT residents from discrimination. And one is too many for the teabaggers.
Tea Party-backed Montana GOP Rep. Kristen Hansen has introduced a bill that would overturn all local LGBT rights laws in the state. The bill "limits all local rights ordinances to state-protected classes" of people. Montana House Bill 516. Via Montana Capitol Report, we learn that GOP lawmakers refused to allow opponents of the bill to be heard, even though anti-gay activists were heard from, including one pastor that called for the death penalty for homosexuality.
Opponents of the measure came from across the state to testify. Unfortunately, the Republican majority on the committee attempted to limit testimony on both sides of the issue to ten minutes. Democrats on the committee objected and even presented rules that require the public be able to at least verbally state their opposition to the bill. The Republicans on the committee ignored the rules, and refused to let opponents of the bill testify. In response to the GOP actions, Rep. Diane Sands (D-Missoula) took to reading the names of every opponent (all 50+) of the measure and asked them to stand and be acknowledged. After the hearing, opponents of the measure held their own hearing, next to the statue of Rep. Jeannette Rankin, where they allowed all of the opponents of the measure speak and be heard. During this informal hearing, Sen. Carol Williams and other Democratic lawmakers showed up to show their frustrations with the treatment of these Montanans that simply wanted to be heard.
The above-linked story notes that other recent Montana bills allow cities to form local militias, call for the withdrawal from the United Nations, and allow for the carrying of handguns into banks and churches.
VIDEO: Pastor Harris Himes explains that homosexuality is an abomination worthy of being put to death and therefore gay people should not be rented homes in Montana.
VIDEO: After the hearing, Democrats gathered in a hallway to denounce having been shut out of the debate.
She's totally a closeted lesbian. So says my very trusted tipster who adds this about Montana state GOP Rep. Kristin Hansen: "She lives with a woman who she introduces to others as her 'friend' but has confirmed to a handful of people is her partner. The partner's ex has also been telling people what's up." Hansen was first elected to office last year with the backing of the Tea Party.
