(CNN) In a state on the front lines of America’s escalating culture war over transgender rights, a son has made a personal plea to his powerful father on behalf of the LGBTQ community.
David Gianforte, 32, who uses the pronouns he and they and identifies as non-binary, is the son of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte.
The father and son sat down in the governor’s office on March 27, as reported in The Montana Free Press, for a private meeting that shed light on growing divisions across the state over transgender issues and legislation aimed at limiting transition health care and the codification of the binary definitions of sex and gender.
David Gianforte told the nonprofit news organization that he requested the meeting with the governor “as your constituent and your son” via email.
The reason for the meeting was to ask Greg Gianforte to veto legislation like the state Senate bill that would ban gender-affirming medical and surgical care for transgender minors, codify binary definitions of sex and gender, and ban minors from visiting adults oriented performances at state-funded libraries or schools, and adult-oriented performances at adult-oriented businesses, according to the Free Press.
At the meeting, the younger Gianforte read from a prepared statement, according to the Free Press: “Hey, Dad. Thanks for taking the time to meet me, it means a lot to me.”
He added: “There are a lot of important issues going through the legislature right now. For my own sake, I have chosen to focus primarily on transgender rights, as this would significantly affect a number of my friends directly…I would like to make the case that these bills are immoral, unjust, and frankly, a violation of human rights.”
So far, the bill banning gender-affirming health care for minors is the first to reach Gianforte’s desk, according to the Free Press. His signature or veto is pending.
“I felt somewhat obligated to talk to him about it. Otherwise, I would have regretted the missed opportunity,” David Gianforte said in an interview with the Free Press published Wednesday.
The governor responded to his son’s request for a meeting hours after receiving the email, according to the Free Press.
“I would like to better understand your thoughts and concerns. When can we get together to talk about this?” wrote the elder Gianforte. The governor closed the email with “Love, Dad,” the Free Press reported.
David Gianforte told CNN that he “has no intention of giving any further interviews at this time.”
The governor’s deputy communications director, Brooke Metrione, referred CNN to a statement in the Free Press.
“The governor loves his family and values their thoughts, ideas and perspectives. Our office will not discuss private conversations between the governor and members of his family,” the statement said.
The Montana House of Representatives votes to ban a transgender representative
The meeting between the governor and his son comes as more than 400 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures across the U.S. — more than double the number introduced all of last year, according to the American Civil Liberties Union as of April 3.
Specifically, the number of bills related to education and health care reached unprecedented levels. In addition to the renewed push to ban access to gender-affirming health care for transgender youth, other bills focus heavily on regulating public school curriculum — including discussions around gender identity and sexuality.
On Wednesday, the Republican-dominated Montana House of Representatives voted to bar Rep. Zoe Zephyr, who said GOP lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” for passing bills restricting transgender rights. Zephyr rallied protesters Monday after Speaker Matt Regier blocked her from being admitted to speak on the House floor until the end of this year’s legislative session.
Zephyr, a 34-year-old Democrat from Missoula, last year became the first transgender woman elected to the Montana Legislature.
Under the disciplinary measure, Zephyr will be able to keep his seat and vote remotely. But she won’t be able to participate in debates.
“We’ve got a week and a half left in the session, and we’re going to cover important topics — housing bills, the state budget — and every bill that goes through the end of this session, there’s going to be 11,000 Montanans whose representative is missing, whose votes cannot be heard on those accounts,” Zephyr told CNN on Wednesday.
David Gianforte last week defended Zephyr on Twitter:
“I support @ZoAndBehold and the entire LGBTQ+ community in Montana, which includes me and many of my friends. I have worked to oppose bills in the current MT legislative session.”
The elder Gianforte, who is sworn in as governor in 2021, has four children. David Gianforte said in the interview that he first told his parents that he was gay in 2020.
The governor’s son told the Free Press that he didn’t expect his public statements or a meeting at the state Capitol in Helena to stop the controversial bills from becoming law.
“He’s concerned about his career,” David Gianforte told the news organization. “He has specific issues that he focuses on, like jobs and the economy. And he’s aware that his ability to remain governor depends on whether he remains in favor with the Republican Party. And I believe that affects his decisions on some of those bills.”
David Gianforte told the Free Press that he urged his father to treat Montana’s transgender community with empathy and compassion. To talk “about compassion for the children, the youth of Montana, while taking health care away from the youth,” David Gianforte said, is “a fundamental contradiction in my mind.”
CNN’s Rebecca Rees, Joe Sutton, Eric Bradner, Raja Razek, Amanda Jackson, Devon Cole, Lucy Kafanov and Annette Choi contributed to this report.