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PRIDE director recounts legal challenge to Montana 'deviant conduct' law and warns of violence against LGBTQ people
Summary
Sandy Hale, executive director of PRIDE, described efforts to challenge Montana's deviant conduct statute, cited a 1994 district court ruling that found the law violated privacy, and recounted recent violent incidents and harassment against LGBTQ people in Missoula and statewide.
Sandy Hale, executive director of PRIDE (Montana's statewide civil‑rights organization for gay, lesbian and bisexual people), told a Missoula forum that Montana's "deviant sexual conduct" statute has been the "major stumbling block" to civil‑rights protections for LGBTQ people and that the law is now being challenged before the Montana Supreme Court.
Hale described a December 1993 challenge brought by three lesbians and three gay men; she said a district court in February 1994, Judge Jeffrey Sherlock ruled the law "does violate our right to privacy" and that the case is on appeal to the state Supreme Court.
Hale also detailed recent violence and harassment: she said two gay men were ambushed and beaten on the University of Montana campus in fall 1995 and recounted that anti‑gay flyers circulated in downtown Missoula that called for the death of homosexuals and their supporters. "This instills absolute fear and terror into the entire gay and lesbian, bisexual community," she told attendees.
Why it matters: Hale said the statute separates LGBTQ people from legal protections that others enjoy and contributes to discrimination in employment, housing, education and public accommodations. She also called for community support and legal change to improve safety and equal treatment.
What the forum did not record: the transcript contains speeches and personal accounts presented by Hale and others; it does not include formal statements from prosecutors, the state Supreme Court, police incident reports, or legislative responses. The article reports what Hale said at the forum and identifies incidents as presented by her.
Ending: Hale urged community members to speak up against harassment and to support legal and policy changes that would remove barriers to civil‑rights protections.
