Montana group pushes restroom vote

HELENA, Mont. — A conservative group wants to let Montana voters decide whether transgender people must use public restrooms and locker rooms designated for their genders at birth — a move that could thrust the state into the national debate over transgender rights.

The Montana Family Foundation launched its campaign to place the matter on next year’s fall ballot after lawmakers declined to do so.

If approved by voters, the measure would affect how public schools, universities and other government agencies accommodate transgender people. Facilities designated for use by one sex would have to exclude the opposite sex.

The foundation called the effort a necessary step to protect “the privacy, safety and dignity” of Montana children and help guard against sexual predators.

The American Civil Liberties Union and other critics have argued that the measure would violate federal anti-discrimination laws and embroil the state in lawsuits. In addition, it could cost Montana millions of dollars in business by generating the same kind of negative publicity that engulfed North Carolina and other states that put similar laws in place.