Zooey Zephyr, an elected lawmaker, is being shut out of Montana legislation because she is a transgender woman.
Zooey Zephyr was elected last year to the Montana House of Representatives to represent the 100th District of Montana, which covers the city of Missoula. She ran for office because as an activist for LGBT+ rights who has spoken before the legislature before, she felt her words were not being heard. She won her district in a landslide, with nearly 80% of the vote.
On April 18th, the House was having floor debate over Senate Bill 99, which would make providing gender-affirming care for minors a sex crime.
“If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed,” Zephyr said during her turn to speak. When this remark triggered an objection from Republican majority leader Sue Vinton, Zephyr replied, “The only thing I will say is if you vote ‘yes’ on this bill and ‘yes’ on these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”
Speaker Matt Regier commanded Zephyr’s microphone to be silenced, and she has not been allowed to speak in the legislative session since that point. On April 26th, after a rally in support of her was removed from the galley by riot police for chanting, the House voted 68-32 along party lines to ban her from the session entirely, and canceled hearings from every committee on which she served.
They claim this extreme censure is because her ‘blood on your hands’ comment was “blatantly disrespectful,” but also misgendered her in caucus statements, and have sent the wives of other representatives to block desks she used outside the session.
Zephyr is seeking redress for the ban in state court, saying it violates the Montana constitution, particularly her right to free speech and her constituents’ right to be represented by their official of choice. She also intends to seek re-election in 2024.
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