House panel hears bill to decriminalize gay sex

HELENA — A House panel heard a measure Friday that would remove an obsolete Montana law that criminalizes gay sex by labeling it a deviate sexual behavior on par with bestiality.

Senate Bill 107 seeks to remove that language from the existing statutes, reflecting a 1997 Montana Supreme Court ruling that said the law prohibiting gay sex is unconstitutional. The measure to strike the law has already passed the state Senate in a 39-11 vote, but now is before the House Judiciary Committee — the same panel that killed a similar bill in 2011.

Bill sponsor Sen. Tom Facey, D-Missoula, said cutting the...