Lawmakers in Montana crossed party lines this week to reject a measure that would have banned a transgender representative from using the women’s bathroom at the state Capitol, according to National Public Radio.
Several Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the proposal at a meeting of the Joint House and Senate Rules Committees on Tuesday.
The proposed rule would have designated two bathrooms — located between the House and Senate chambers — as male and female and required legislators to use the one that aligned with their sex chromosomes at birth.
During the nearly 15-minute discussion — in which no women participated — lawmakers in favor of the rule said it would safeguard women’s spaces, while those opposed questioned its utility and how it would be enforced.
The proposal, which needed support from a majority of both committees, passed in the Senate committee but ultimately failed in the House committee by a vote of 10-12.
