NOT THE DIRECTION WE SHOULD HEAD IN

From comparing women to cattle, attacks on teachers and other
public-sector employees and defying the will of 270,000 Montana voters
on medical marijuana, to bills for hunting big game with spears and
silencers, the 2011 Republican-led Montana Legislature would appear to
many progressive Montanans to be heading in clearly the wrong direction.

On the 100th anniversary of the day that highlights women's progress,
Montana House Rep. Keith Regier, R-Kalispell, likened women to cattle
and half-built houses. In his closing arguments on House Bill 167,
Regier distributed images of cattle, and used the images to make a
comparison between the value of a pregnant cow and the value of a
pregnant woman. Equating women to cattle, Regier stated, "Ranchers
refer to cows as either preg-tested or open. A preg-tested cow is a
cow that has been tested by a veterinarian and confirmed to be
pregnant. Open cows are not pregnant. Preg-tested cows bring a higher
price than open cows."

Gov. Brian Schweitzer called the newly passed bill - Senate Bill 423
by Sen. Jeff Essmann, R-Billings - overhauling the state's medical
marijuana law "unconstitutional on its face," but decided to allow the
bill to become law without his signature.

Schweitzer criticized the House for tabling in committee House Bill 68
by Sen. Diane Sands, D-Missoula, proposed by a bipartisan interim
committee after much study and many hearings last year and considered
to be the best of the bills related to medical marijuana. Schweitzer
earlier vetoed House Bill 161, by Speaker Mike Milburn, R-Cascade,
that would have repealed the 2004 voter-passed medical marijuana law.

When these guys say they are listening to the voices of the people,
you've got to wonder if the voices they are hearing are only the ones
in their heads.

Glenn Ferren,

Superior