Montana governor signs law saying "sex" can only be defined as male or female

Republican Governor Greg Gianforte has signed a bill defining the word "sex" in state law as only male or female — joining Kansas and Tennessee, which have similar laws that LGBTQ+ advocates argue will deny legal recognition to nonbinary and transgender people.

Medical professionals say the laws also ignore that some people are born as intersex — a term that encompasses about 60 conditions in which a person is born with genitalia, reproductive organs, chromosomes and/or hormone levels that don't fit typical definitions of male or female.

The sponsor of the bill said the change is needed to clarify from a legal standpoint that "sex" and "gender" don't mean the same thing.