How Missoula's Anti-Discrimination Laws Fail To Protect LGBT People
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Politics and Activism

How Missoula's Anti-Discrimination Laws Fail To Protect LGBT People

The Ordinance is only the beginning.

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How Missoula's Anti-Discrimination Laws Fail To Protect LGBT People

Going to the grocery story sometimes turns into an uncomfortable situation for people like Kate Monson.

One time, she was buying cigarettes at Albertsons in Missoula. The man at the counter asked, “How can I help you, sir?”

Monson identifies as a butch lesbian woman, but is often confused with being transgender or a man. Her hair is short and she often wears men’s clothing.

When the man asked for her ID, he apologized frantically to Monson for calling her “sir.”

“I started laughing. I said, ‘Don’t worry about it, man. Happens all the time,’” Monson said.

Other people seem uneasy with Monson’s presence in the women’s bathroom.

“Some older lady will come into the bathroom and be all shocked because she’s scared that she went into the wrong bathroom,” she said. “So I just tell her, ‘Don’t worry. You’ve come to the right place.’ and I smile at her.”

Monson brushes off these interactions with a sense of humor.

“What are people supposed to do, you know? I mean, I look like a guy. I act like a guy. I sound kind of like a guy,” she said. “I can’t really expect anybody to take a look at me and know what I am.”

But sometimes, the world is a scary place for Monson. When she was in high school, another student threatened to kill her because of her sexual orientation.

“He was going to get his rifle out of his truck and shoot me with it,” she said. “Just because I am the way I am. They don’t like gay people.”

Monson has been living in Missoula for three years, and has had difficulty finding a job. She is qualified for most of the places she applies for, but is often not called back after an interview.

“I’d sue the hell out of them if I could afford it,” she said.

Missoula passed an anti-discrimination ordinance in April 2010 that banned housing and employment discrimination for LGBT people. But since that ordinance was passed, of the 12 discrimination and civil rights cases filed in Missoula County, none have been LGBT related.

But just because there are no lawsuits doesn’t mean there is no discrimination happening. Most LGBT discrimination cases are difficult to prove.

“It’s a legal battle of you trying to prove you’ve been discriminated against,” said Bree Sutherland, the executive director of the Gender Expansion Project. “The non-discrimination ordinances are great, but they don’t have a lot of teeth.”

There are some exceptions with in-family living room share situations. It is completely legal in Missoula if an individual is kicked out of the house, in this particular situation, once they find out they are are trans or gay, according to Sutherland.

Sutherland said that only specific instances of discrimination can gain traction in court.

In other cities, the only cases that are convicted are ones where there’s been a long-standing, very clear history that they’re hiring less qualified individuals who are straight, and not hiring LGBT people that are much higher qualified. You also need to be able to afford a lawyer, and have the right legal opportunities.

If a defendant is convicted at a city level, the most punishment they can get is a $500 fine.

“Basically a slap on the wrist,” Sutherland said.

"There are lots of loopholes for defendants to take advantage of at the state level. If they bring the case to the state, it would be thrown out because there is no anti-discrimination law at the Montana state level," Sutherland said.

“It’s a difficult thing to prove discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity. The discrimination that individuals face is not overt. It’s very covert discrimination,” she said.

But Sutherland believes that the Missoula ordinance has helped.

“More and more employers are becoming more open mined. Maybe the fear of lawsuits,” she said. “They’re fearful of the general potential public knowing they’re a homophobic employer.”

"The next step is to pass an anti-discrimination law for the state. No case will be taken seriously without a Montana state anti-discrimination law and ultimately a federal law," Sutherland said.

“It’s time, I think. That’s what it’s going to take,” she said.

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