Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-304 (2026)

Discrimination In Public Accommodations

✓ current as of May 2026
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TITLE 49. HUMAN RIGHTS

CHAPTER 2. ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION

Part 3. Prohibited Discriminatory Practices

Discrimination In Public Accommodations

49-2-304. Discrimination in public accommodations. (1) Except when the distinction is based on reasonable grounds, it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for the owner, lessee, manager, agent, or employee of a public accommodation:

(a) to refuse, withhold from, or deny to a person any of its services, goods, facilities, advantages, or privileges because of sex, marital status, race, age, physical or mental disability, creed, religion, color, or national origin;

(b) to publish, circulate, issue, display, post, or mail a written or printed communication, notice, or advertisement which states or implies that any of the services, goods, facilities, advantages, or privileges of the public accommodation will be refused, withheld from, or denied to a person of a certain race, creed, religion, sex, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, color, or national origin.

(2) Except when the distinction is based on reasonable grounds, it is an unlawful discriminatory practice for a licensee under Title 16, chapter 4, to exclude from its membership or from its services, goods, facilities, advantages, privileges, or accommodations any individual on the grounds of race, color, religion, creed, sex, marital status, age, physical or mental disability, or national origin. This subsection does not apply to any lodge of a recognized national fraternal organization.

(3) Nothing in this section prohibits public accommodations from giving or providing special benefits, incentives, discounts, or promotions for the benefit of individuals based on age.

History: En. 64-306 by Sec. 2, Ch. 283, L. 1974; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 121, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 524, L. 1975; amd. Sec. 7, Ch. 38, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 64-306(3); amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 3, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 543, L. 1989; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 454, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 4, Ch. 407, L. 1993.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1996–2021 · leading case: Bates v. Neva, 2013 MT 246 (Mont. 2013).
Bates v. Neva, 2013 MT 246 (Mont. 2013). · cites it 13× “Section 49-2-304, MCA (the *467 Public Accommodation Provision), makes it unlawful for a place of public accommodation to deny to a person its “services, goods, facilities, advantages, or privileges”because of a person’s sex.”
Hilands Golf Club v. Ashmore, 2002 MT 8 (Mont. 2002). · cites it 4× “See § 49-2-304, MCA. As a liquor license holder, the Hilands Golf Club qualified as a place of public accommodation.”
Baxter Homeowners Ass'n v. Angel, 2013 MT 83 (Mont. 2013). · cites it 4× “An “aggrieved party” means someone “who can demonstrate a specific personal and legal interest, as distinguished from a general interest, and who has been or is likely to be specially and injuriously affected” by a violation of the Act.”
Hilands Golf Club v. Ashmore, 922 P.2d 469 (Mont. 1996). · cites it 4× “? BACKGROUND In 1991, Ashmore brought a claim before the Commission alleging that Hilands had discriminated, based on gender, in its public accommodations contrary to § 49-2-304, MCA. A Commission investigator investigated Ashmore’s complaints and found no probable cause to…”
Hansen v. Bozeman Police Dep't, 2015 MT 143 (Mont. 2015). · cites it 5× “” Section 49-2-304, MCA. As noted, the Human Rights Bureau, in a separate proceeding and after hearing, determined that the C’mon Inn violated § 49-2-304, MCA, by refusing to provide a room to Hansen.”
Maffit v. City of Helena, 2021 MT 14 (Mont. 2021). · cites it 2× “The MHRA defines prohibited discriminatory practices to include retaliation (§ 49-2-301, MCA); aiding, coercing, or attempting discrimination (§ 49-2-302, MCA); discrimination in employment (§ 49-2-303, 9 MCA); discrimination in public accommodations (§ 49-2-304, MCA);…”
Conlan v. Costco Wholesale Corp. (D. Mont. 2021). · cites it 2× “Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-304 (1)(a). 55. |The MHRA mirrors Title III of the ADA.”
— Mont. Code Ann. § 49-2-304(l)(a) — 2 cases
Baxter Homeowners Ass'n v. Angel, 2013 MT 83 (Mont. 2013). “An “aggrieved party” means someone “who can demonstrate a specific personal and legal interest, as distinguished from a general interest, and who has been or is likely to be specially and injuriously affected” by a violation of the Act.”
Bates v. Neva, 2013 MT 246 (Mont. 2013). “Section 49-2-304, MCA (the *467 Public Accommodation Provision), makes it unlawful for a place of public accommodation to deny to a person its “services, goods, facilities, advantages, or privileges”because of a person’s sex.”
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