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Contentious hearing on bill to expand indecent-exposure law and define dignity; opponents warn it targets transgender people
Summary
House Bill 446 prompted extensive testimony and sharp disagreement as the Senate Judiciary Committee debated proposed changes to indecent-exposure law that proponents said protect dignity and opponents said would target transgender people and create vague criminal standards.
House Bill 446 drew the longest and most contested hearing of the day. Sponsor Representative Jedidiah Hinkle described the bill as an update to indecent-exposure laws to ensure that exposing intimate parts in public “can be a chargeable offense in public places” and said the change is intended to protect dignity, which the sponsor tied to Article II, Section 4 of the Montana Constitution.
Proponents, including the Montana Family Foundation and several individual witnesses, argued the bill would protect people — especially women and survivors of sexual violence — from unwelcome exposure and humiliation in restrooms, locker rooms and…
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