A transgender activist who spoke out against Alabama’s “What is a Woman Act” in 2024 now wants to be in the Legislature.
Allison Montgomery, a biological man who identifies as a woman, is currently running against Republican State Rep. Phillip Rigsby (R-Harvest) in House District 25.
Montgomery won the Democratic nomination for the seat with 67.0% of the vote.
According to her campaign website, she’s running because for “four years, I’ve analyzed legislation, rallied people around this grassroots effort, and worked with legislators who are unlike me in order to block harmful, senseless ‘culture war’ bills.”
During the 2024 Legislative Session, Montgomery spoke out against that codified definitions of sex-based terms such as “man,” “woman,” “male,” and “female” into state law — based on biological reality at birth.
“I’m here to say that I’m literally just a woman,” she said in front of a House Committee. ” I’m also transgender. People like me have always existed. We can’t help that we exist, and it’s okay that we exist. It’s okay that God made us the way that we are. To use the crude language of this bill, men whose bodies at some point produced ova and women whose bodies at some point produce sperm? This bill legislates that we not exist as the men and women that we are.”
Rigsby, a Huntsville pharmacist, supported the measure.
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“This legislation does not make any sense to implement,” Montgomery continued. “It will force men in the trans community whose bodies produce ova into women’s spaces. Some of these men have taken testosterone for years and have developed full beards. They do not belong in the women’s bathroom. Some of these men have been beaten as a result of bills like this passing for the crime of following the law. But they’re not the only ones. This bill is vague enough to justify the scrutiny and harassment of any woman, transgender or not, who don’t look feminine enough to a bystander.”
“This bill is also a legally risky move for Alabama,” Montgomery added. “It would put state law in conflict with federal case law and expose private businesses and state facilities to unnecessary legal liability by adding new accommodation requirements for those that this bill would classify as disabled. Under current law, there is no need for such requirements. It is easier and less legally risky to just leave Alabama code as it is, this bill is not worth Alabama’s time, nor is the mess it will cause if passed.”
The Legislature ended up passing the “What is a Woman Act” in 2025. The bill was sponsored by State Rep. Susan DuBose and State Sen. April Weaver (R-Briarfield).
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on X @Yaffee.
