A district court judge in Helena heard arguments Thursday afternoon from attorneys seeking a preliminary injunction on behalf of two transgender Montanans who argue that a rule from the state public health department preventing them from changing their government documents to denote their gender instead of their birth sex is unconstitutional.
ACLU of Montana attorney Alex Rate told Lewis and Clark County District Court Judge Mike Menahan that the Department of Public Health and Human Services’ rule finalized in February essentially prohibits transgender Montanans from changing the sex designations on their birth certificates.
He argued that the state Motor Vehicle Division is not allowing the plaintiffs, Jessica Kalarchik and Jane Doe, to change their sex designations on their driver’s licenses because they are unable to change those designations on their birth certificates in the first place.
Rate used the words of Missoula County District Court Judge Jason Marks when he struck down a bill to prohibit youth from receiving gender-affirming care in September 2023.
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“The purported purpose given for these policies is disingenuous. It seems more likely that the policy’s purpose is to ban an outcome deemed undesirable by the State of Montana. This conduct is replete with animus towards transgender persons,” Rate said, citing Marks’s order.
The state, represented by the Attorney General’s Office, argued that sex and gender are not interchangeable, and that court precedent recognizes sex as a binary of male and female.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to issue an injunction barring DPHHS from enforcing its rule and the MVD from not changing sex designations on driver’s licenses, which has not been introduced as a written policy but one which the plaintiffs’ attorneys say is being enforced on the ground.
They are also seeking to certify a class of transgender Montanans in what they hope will become a class-action lawsuit protecting the rules from being enforced for all current and future transgender Montanans who want to change their birth certificates and IDs or driver’s licenses.
Marks said issuing a preliminary injunction would restore the status quo in place in 2017, when Montanans were allowed to change their sex designations without issue. He said that even though a 2021 law that was similar to the DPHHS rule finalized this year was struck down as unconstitutional, the department was in 2023 found to be in contempt of court for “openly and repeatedly” defying the injunction.
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And in February, the department moved ahead with the rule change after the Legislature passed a bill, Senate Bill 458, aiming to state in Montana law that there “are exactly two sexes, male and female.” DPHHS said the only changes to sex designations allowed would be to correct errors on birth certificates. A district court judge this past summer found Senate Bill 458 to be unconstitutional as well, though the state is appealing that decision.
Rate told Menahan that backstory is key to proving that the State of Montana is targeting transgender people with the rule and discriminating against them in violation of the state Constitution, its equal protection clause, and the right to privacy it affords Montanans. He argued the state offered no compelling interest for the rule.
“The state says that this isn’t speech at all, but rather a record. But that is a statement of your sex, and the state is forcing our clients to present their view of their sex,” Rate said. “The state cannot arbitrarily decide what is an individual’s sex and force them to speak that into the world. That is the definition of compelled speech.”
Assistant Attorney General Alwyn Lansing (right) tells Judge Mike Menahan why he should not issue an injunction blocking a DPHHS rule concerning birth certificate changes. (Photo by Blair Miller, Daily Montanan)
Assistant Attorney General Alwyn Lansing argued on behalf of the state, telling Menahan that the plaintiffs were trying to get the court to make transgender people a protected class.
“To adopt plaintiffs’ argument would be to create a new protected class, which is gender identity, that is in direct conflict with Montana Supreme Court precedent. The Legislature is the only one who could do that,” she said. “…The right to privacy does not include a right to replace an objective fact of biological sex on a government document with subjective gender identity.”
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She also contended that since not all transgender Montanans are seeking to update their personal documents, siding with the plaintiffs would prescribe “personal values of some onto the laws which govern all.”
Rate said the state could not rely on Senate Bill 458 because it is enjoined, and the expert testimony the plaintiffs submitted from two medical experts in the transgender field showed there is a strong relationship between sex and gender identity, and that disallowing that expression was harmful and discriminatory to transgender Montanans.
Arguing as to why a class should be certified in the case, ACLU attorney Malita Picasso said state data showed at least 280 Montanans had sought to amend their birth certificates during the past seven years, at least 85 since 2022. She said certifying a class of transgender Montanans who currently or in the future may want to change their sex designations would ensure that any court decision would apply to all transgender Montanans, not just the current plaintiffs in the case.
She also said that certifying a class for the case would prevent confusion should separate cases be filed in other Montana district courts and judges come to differing conclusions. Assistant Attorney General Thane Johnson told the court that whatever Menahan decides regarding the injunction would apply to the entire state of Montana, and he believed the plaintiffs did not meet all the necessary prongs to turn the case into a class-action suit.
Picasso responded that the state’s record showed it would try to fight the changes even if an injunction was granted, however. She said that if Menahan issues an injunction and the two plaintiffs do get their documents changed, the state could then claim the case and injunction were moot because the plaintiffs had gotten the relief they had sought, then apply the same rules to other transgender Montanans.
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“If the defendants would like to enter a stipulated agreement in which they, you know, say that they won’t enforce it as to others, then I think that maybe we could reconsider,” Picasso said. “But at this stage, it seems pretty clear that were the injunction to be issued only as to the named plaintiffs, that the defendants would be arguing for that to be limited to just them.”
Menahan did not issue any orders from the bench Thursday and did not state when he might do so following the two-hour hearing.
BOULDER, Colo. — Taylee Chirrick’s driving layup with 1.7 seconds left lifted Montana State to a 71-70 women’s basketball victory on the road over Colorado of the Big 12 on Sunday.
With seconds ticking away and MSU trailing 70-69, Chirrick beat two defenders along the near sideline and broke toward the basket to lay in the go-ahead points. A last-ditch heave by the Buffaloes missed, and the Bobcats improved to 5-1 overall.
“This team showed championship toughness and grittiness in the second half,” MSU coach Tricia Binford stated in a press release. “They fought and clawed their way back against a very good team. I’m very proud of everyone’s effort.”
Colorado’s Desiree Wooten gave her team the lead with nine seconds left with a driving three-point play. But Chirrick and Montana State were able to complete a comeback that saw the Bobcats erase a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter.
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A layup by CU’s Anaelle Dutat had the Bobcats down 61-49 with 9:24 remaining; the Cats closed the game on a 22-9 run.
Chirrick, a sophomore from Roberts, finished with a game-high 21 points. She made 6 of 15 from the floor and went 7 for 7 from the foul line. Addison Harris added 19 points, and Heidi Smith scored eight of her 10 in the fourth quarter to boost the Bobcats’ rally.
Harris and Chirrick led MSU with six rebounds apiece. Chirrick also had three assists and four steals. The Bobcats scored 20 points off 23 Colorado turnovers.
Jade Masogayo led the Buffaloes with 16 points while Wooten had 14. Dutat finished with 10 points and a game-best nine rebounds.
Montana State will next travel to Fargo, N.D., to face North Dakota State on Wednesday as part of the Big Sky/Summit League Challenge. The Bobcats will host North Dakota on Saturday.
Carroll College tight end Carson Ochoa caught five passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns in the Saints’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 loss to Montana Tech Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, inside Alumni Coliseum.
Carroll College safety Braeden Orlandi breaks up a pass intended for Montana Tech wide-out Levi Torgerson Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during the Orediggers’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over the Saints.
Montana Tech wide-out Levi Torgerson totaled 124 yards receiving, caught two touchdowns, and tossed a 21-yard score to Orediggers QB Jarrett Wilson in Tech’s 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over Carroll College Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, inside Alumni Coliseum. Torgerson was selected game offensive MVP.
Montana Tech QB Jarrett Wilson completed 11 of 16 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in the Orediggers’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over Carroll College. Wilson carried the football 15 times for 94 yards. He also caught a 21-yard touchdown.
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Montana Tech QB Jarrett Wilson completed 11 of 16 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in the Orediggers’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over Carroll College. Wilson carried the football 15 times for 94 yards. He also caught a 21-yard touchdown.
Email Daniel Shepard at daniel.shepard@406mtsports.com and find him on X/Twitter @IR_DanielS.
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Montana Tech beat Carroll for the 5th-straight time Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, advancing to the NAIA Football Championship Series Quarterfinals.…
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Montana Tech wide-out Levi Torgerson totaled 124 yards receiving, caught two touchdowns, and tossed a 21-yard score to Orediggers QB Jarrett Wilson in Tech’s 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over Carroll College Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, inside Alumni Coliseum. Torgerson was selected game offensive MVP.
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Montana Tech QB Jarrett Wilson completed 11 of 16 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in the Orediggers’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over Carroll College. Wilson carried the football 15 times for 94 yards. He also caught a 21-yard touchdown.
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Montana Tech QB Jarrett Wilson completed 11 of 16 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, in the Orediggers’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over Carroll College. Wilson carried the football 15 times for 94 yards. He also caught a 21-yard touchdown.
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Carroll College safety Braeden Orlandi breaks up a pass intended for Montana Tech wide-out Levi Torgerson Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, during the Orediggers’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over the Saints.
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Carroll College kicker Kai Golan recovered an on-side kick in the third quarter of the Saints’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 loss to Montana Tech Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, inside Alumni Coliseum. Golan’s recovery led to a Saints touchdown that pulled Carroll within three points.
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Montana Tech head football coach Kyle Samson celebrates the Orediggers’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 victory over Carroll College Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, inside Alumni Coliseum.
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Carroll College tight end Carson Ochoa caught five passes for 125 yards and three touchdowns in the Saints’ 31-21 NAIA Football Championship Series Round of 16 loss to Montana Tech Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, inside Alumni Coliseum.
Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a libertarian special interest group, would have you think so. And it is sending out postcards and online ads claiming that Republicans who worked with Governor Greg Gianforte to produce a balanced budget are “pouring gasoline on the fire.”
The problem is that the “accountability information” AFP is peddling is false.
Did the state budget “explode” by $16.5 billion? NO! That number is the two-year appropriation in the General Appropriations Act (HB 2). It is not how much the budget increased. The actual increase in the total state budget was $142 million over two years—a tiny fraction of the amount claimed by AFP—according to the official budget comparison as calculated per state law (17-7-151, MCA) and validated by analysts at the legislature’s nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Division. Was there a 13.5% increase in state spending? NO! AFP’s number comes from considering only part of the state budget. The total state budget grew by only 0.7%, according to the official budget comparison cited above.
Did the budget grow at “2x the rate of inflation and 7x the pace of population growth”? NO! Budget growth was 0.7%—obviously much less than what AFP claims.
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Is Montana running “massive deficits”? NO! he state constitution requires a balanced budget, and the budget we passed is balanced. Montana does not engage in deficit spending. Furthermore, Montana is the only bond debt-free state in the nation because of legislative actions taken over the past two sessions.
Was this the “biggest budget in Montana’s history”? Yes. But that could be said about any year in at least the recent past (I looked back 10 years). Why is that? A big reason is that inflation drives up the cost of providing the services that most Montanans expect, e.g., law enforcement, a corrections system, mental health and drug treatment, an education system, and management of our public lands, to name only a few. Good government is about providing those services as cost effectively as possible. Governor Gianforte and his allies in the legislature have been doing just that.
Americans for Prosperity might be forgiven if they simply misunderstood a thing or two about state finance. But AFP got so much wrong that one can only conclude that it willfully distorted the truth in order to mislead Montana citizens. Where I come from in Montana that’s called lying.
David Bedey is a Republican state Representative from Hamilton.
