Huntsville House candidate fires back at Republican opponent's attack on trans identity

The race for Alabama House District 25 is heating up after Republican state Representative Phillip Rigsby attacked Democratic challenger Allison Montgomery’s identity as a transgender woman last week.

“When you take your fourth-grade student, say your fourth-grade daughter to Montgomery for their fourth-grade field trip, you’re going to enter the office of a transgender person, and they have every right to live the way they want to,” Rigsby told attendees at the Madison County Republican Party’s annual barbecue last week. “But when a person chooses to change their gender, it changes everything—how they approach things, how they look at policy and how they move legislation. All of that will be affected by these choices.”

Montgomery questioned Rigsby’s concern about children visiting a transgender lawmaker’s office, citing the recent arrest of Republican state Representative Brett Easterbrook on a human trafficking charge.

“Republican politicians always point to vague concerns about ‘the children’ when talking about women like myself, while Republican Rep. Brett Easterbrook gets arrested for soliciting sex with a minor,” Montgomery said. “I wouldn’t want any of my nieces and nephews going to the State House with him there, and I wouldn’t want them going there with examples like Rep. Rigsby, either—men who look the other way when actual pedophiles are committing actual crimes, as long as they’re on the same team. The Republican party keeps inviting these pedophiles into their ranks, so it’s unsurprising that they also invite adults to inspect young girls’ bodies through laws like their sports bans—which were supposed to ... lower your electric bill? Something like that, I’m sure.”

Rigsby noted that Montgomery would become Alabama’s first transgender lawmaker if elected.

“I don’t want to personally attack my opponent, but I do want people to know because I did have somebody tell me just this weekend, they had no idea,” Rigsby said. “So on Wednesday, two weeks from now, when people wake up on Wednesday, I don’t want someone coming to me and saying we didn’t know.”

Montgomery said Rigsby’s comments reflect his own governing style.

“Phillip Rigsby can’t imagine a politician or policymaker that is not self-interested like he is. By his logic, he’s only going to represent the interests of middle-aged white Evangelical pharmacy owners—and that’s exactly what he’s done. Every conservative accusation is a confession,” Montgomery said.

“Rigsby voted to restrict hemp products, then turned around and tried to exempt his own pharmacies from the ban he passed. He tried to allow his own pharmacy to distribute ivermectin without individual prescriptions in an attempt to cash in on a quack medicine fad. He pushed legislation that would lower the staffing ratios required in pharmacies for safety, which would decrease his own business operating costs. He has received over $19,500 in campaign funds from pharmacies and related interests, not to mention the $100,000 and more from other corporate interests. People who hear I’m running for office have warned me about becoming corrupted by the office like this; that it happens to everyone, regardless of intentions. Rep. Rigsby, unfortunately, seems no exception.”

Montgomery has advocated for transgender rights in Alabama for the past few years as a leader of the Alabama Trans Rights Action Coalition. She said that activism responds to the state’s intrusion into transgender people’s lives.

“Y’all I don’t care about ‘transgender’ this or ‘ideology’ that. I started advocating for myself and others who transition because I didn’t want it to be a crime for me to go to the grocery store,” Montgomery said. “I didn’t want it to be a crime for a doctor to give me the hormone medication that saved my life. I didn’t want government busybodies micromanaging our language and peering into our underwear like the ‘What Is A Woman’ Act that Phillip Rigsby pushed does.”

Montgomery outlined several issues she wants to address as a state representative beyond disputes over transgender rights.

“As an engineer, I’ve been sticking to dissecting our problems and trying to find real solutions for them, instead of just saying ‘affordability,’ instead of just saying ‘stronger schools,’ instead of just saying ‘healthcare,’ because I really want to figure out how to make Alabama better for us,” Montgomery said. “Better for everybody. Not just transgender people. When I go knock on folks’ doors and talk to them about what I stand for, neither of us care that I’m transgender. But 1819 does, and Philip Rigsby does. They are obsessed with me. They will not stop talking about my gender. Voters want answers and policy solutions. Rep. Rigsby and Republicans are not the ones talking about those solutions.

“(Rigsby) said people were surprised when he told them I transitioned—but y’all. If I don’t mention it, and nobody knows from talking with me, what does it matter? Why’s he gotta bring it up? They’re trying to distract you. Don’t be fooled; vote out the ones trying to fool you.”