House Defeats Gay Sex Bill, Again
MSNBC,
February 20, 1999
By Angelica Thornton
HELENA - For the second week in row, the House has defeated a bill that
would have erased Montana’s law against gay sex.
Saturdayıs defeat on a vote of 37 to 63 came after House Bill 449 was changed over
objections of the sponsor, Democratic Representative Joan Hurdle of Billings.
Supporters of the original bill said the amendment raised a host of concerns, including
some constitutional issues.
The law Hurdle’s bill sought to remove was struck down by the Montana Supreme
Court in 1997, as an infringement on the constitutional right to privacy.
On the House floor Saturday, critics of the bill said the court found only a portion of
the law unconstitutional, and the bill was too broad in seeking to remove the entire
statute.
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