Missoula, Montana - A federal judge in Montana has struck down an anti-LGBTQ+ law defining sex in the state code as only "male" or "female."

Montana's Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed Senate Bill 458 in May 2023. The legislation restricts sex to "male" and "female," as defined by a person's reproductive organs and cells they produce at birth.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Montana filed a lawsuit challenging the measure in December.

Plaintiffs had argued that the law denied transgender, nonbinary, and other gender non-conforming people recognition and protections in the state.

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District Court Judge Shane Vannatta did not rule on that point but did find the title of the bill unconstitutionally vague, as the word "sex" has multiple meanings.

"The title does not give general notice of the character of the legislation in a way that guards against deceptive or misleading titles," Vannatta wrote in his decision issued Tuesday.

"The court does not insert its opinion in this order as to what title should have been used or should be used," he continued. "Rather, the court has concluded that the word 'sex' in the title has not been clearly distinguished (i.e., intercourse or gender) and that the subject in the body of the Bill (providing a definition for 'female' and 'male') has not been identified in the title."

The bill passed out of the state legislature in the same session that saw Republicans censure Representative Zooey Zephyr, Montana's first transgender legislator.

A gender-affirming care ban passed during the same session has also been blocked in court.