ELLISVILLE 鈥 Dozens of protesters on Friday railed against a transgender woman鈥檚 use of the women鈥檚 locker room at a fitness center here, demanding a state investigation and threatening to boycott the business.
The crowd gathered in a bank parking lot next to the Life Time fitness center on Clarkson Road to hear from state Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood, and other lawmakers who say that their offices have been inundated with phone calls and emails from constituents concerned about Eris Montano, a 52-year-old transgender woman, using the gym鈥檚 women鈥檚 locker room.
Eris Montano, a 52-year-old transgender woman from 最新杏吧原创 County, is interviewed by television reporters as protesters line up across the street. Montano鈥檚 use of the women鈥檚 locker room at the Ellisville gym has sparked considerable backlash and was the subject of a protest on Friday, Aug. 2.
Gym owners have said Montano did nothing wrong. But Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has said the state would investigate.
鈥淭oday we鈥檙e drawing the line 鈥 people that are biologically male, meaning that in their DNA and their chromosomes are male, should not be getting undressed in front of women and children in a locker room,鈥 Sparks said Friday. His comments followed a chaotic, 11-minute press conference that at times devolved into a shoving and shouting match between protesters and counter-protesters, who chanted and blew whistles aimed at drowning out the Republican lawmakers.
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Missouri state Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood, fields questions from reporters during a news conference outside of the Life Time fitness center in Ellisville on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. Sparks called the news conference to address concerns about a transgender woman using the women鈥檚 locker room at the gym.
Police made no arrests.
Among those at the protest was Terrie Desloge, a Life Time gym member and a resident of 最新杏吧原创 County. She said she welcomes transgender men and women to use the gym but believes they should use separate facilities.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want my 14-year-old daughter to see a penis in the bathroom until she鈥檚 of age,鈥 Desloge said. 鈥淚 hate to be so blunt but that鈥檚 how I feel.鈥
Supporters of Montano rejected the idea that she had done anything wrong.
鈥淲hen I hear that, quite frankly, I think that we are moving backward as a country,鈥 said Robert Fischer, a spokesperson for the state鈥檚 LGBTQ+ public policy and advocacy organization, PROMO, who attended the protest. 鈥淪eparate is never equal.鈥
Nancy Fish, of Wildwood, came with a sign that read, 鈥淭rans women belong here.鈥 Fish said she welcomes the discussion over what happened at the gym.
鈥淚t needs to continue until all are equal and treated equally, even transgender women, especially here in western 最新杏吧原创 county,鈥 Fish said.
Friday鈥檚 events came on the heels of an announcement from Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who said Friday morning that he is investigating the Minnesota-based Life Time fitness company over its policies about locker room access for transgender gym members. Bailey said that he believes Montano鈥檚 presence in the women鈥檚 locker room likely 鈥渃onstitutes criminal trespass鈥 or 鈥渕ultiple sexual offenses.鈥
鈥淵our policies are enabling potentially criminal behavior, and I am writing to assure you that it will not continue on my watch,鈥 Bailey said .
The gym has said that Montano did not violate its policies. Life Time鈥檚 members are assigned to locker rooms based on the gender listed on their state-issued photo ID. Montano is listed as a female on her Missouri driver鈥檚 license.
Ellisville Police Capt. Andy Vaughn said on Friday that the department is investigating a complaint that Montano had allegedly exposed herself to a woman in the locker room earlier in the week.
Montano has denied any allegation of wrongdoing. She said she wears a modest bikini when in the pool and sauna and that she only ever changes clothes while inside of the dressing rooms within the locker room. She also drapes a towel over the frosted-glass door of the single-person shower stall whenever she showers at the locker room.
鈥淚鈥檓 not there to see anybody else,鈥 Montano said earlier this week. 鈥淚 am there to change clothes, and get the heck out of there.鈥
Eris Montano, a transgender woman from 最新杏吧原创 County, stands outside of the Life Time fitness center in Ellisville. Montano's membership at the gym was the subject of a protest and press conference featuring state lawmakers on Friday, Aug. 2. Photo by Ethan Colbert.
Montano, who lives in Chesterfield, came to the gym on Friday but left before the news conference began.
鈥淭hese people are loud, but I know they鈥檙e not the majority,鈥 Montano said. She said she is 鈥渘ot even a little bit鈥 worried about returning to the gym to work out or the women鈥檚 locker room.
Montano has been a daily gym-goer at Life Time since joining Sunday. She said she has largely had positive interactions with other gym members.
The lone exception, she said, was a confrontation with a woman in the center鈥檚 sauna on Monday. 鈥淪he kept telling me that I was a man, that I didn鈥檛 belong there,鈥 Montano said.
Missouri Rep. Justin Sparks, R-Wildwood, speaks to the media during a rally he organized at the Life Time fitness center in Ellisville on Friday, Aug. 2, 2024. Sparks organized the event after hearing that a transgender woman was using the locker room at the gym. Video by Ethan Colbert
Speakers on Friday renewed calls for an investigation into the Missouri Department of Revenue, which issues driver鈥檚 licenses in the state.
State Rep. Holly Jones, R-Eureka, agreed.
鈥淭hat someone can just fill out a form stating that they鈥檝e changed their gender from male to female,鈥 she said, 鈥渋s absolutely an issue to investigate.鈥
