MAY 2, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Montana lawmaker who was silenced after telling Republicans they would have blood on their hands for opposing gender-affirming health care for kids, cannot return to the statehouse House floor and participate in debate, a judge ruled Tuesday (May 2, 2023). The ruling came after attorneys for the state of Montana asked the judge to reject Zephyr’s attempt to return after she was silenced and then banished for admonishing Republican lawmakers and encouraging a raucous statehouse protest. Lawyers working under Attorney General Austin Knudsen cautioned that any intervention by the courts on Zephyr’s behalf would be a blatant violation of the separation of powers. Tuesday’s ruling came just hours before lawmakers wrapped up their biennial session.
MAY 1, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Attorneys for Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr are asking a court to allow for her return to the House floor. A lawsuit was filed Monday (May 1, 2023) in state district court in Helena on behalf of the transgender Democrat and several constituents who say they are being denied their right to adequate representation. Zephyr was silenced and barred after chiding her Republican colleagues over legislation to restrict gender-affirming health care and for encouraging protesters. The challenge against House Speaker Matt Regier and statehouse Sergeant-at-Arms Bradley Murfitt comes with just days left in the Legislature’s biennial session. Regier and Murfitt have not commented on the lawsuit.
APRIL 30, 2023:
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The banishment of transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from Montana’s House floor has showcased the rising power of hard-line conservatives who are leveraging divisive social issues to gain political influence. The conservatives are organized under the State Freedom Caucus Network, which now has a presence in 11 statehouses. The groups follow the playbook of the House Freedom Caucus, an alliance of GOP conservatives determined to pull their party to the right. The dispute gave a national stage to Democratic state Rep. Zooey Zephyr that she’s used to denounce anti-transgender legislation. But in Montana, Republicans are counting on Zephyr’s newfound prominence to sway voters that Democrats have become too extreme.
APRIL 27, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr began her first day in legislative exile with renewed confidence that Republican lawmakers’ unprecedented vote to silence her has only amplified her message. Lawmakers were not making it easy for her, however. Shortly after she set up Thursday morning in a public space just outside the main House chamber, the speaker told her she couldn’t work there. The House minority leader countered that she can, and Zephyr remained in place. The lawmaker was thrust into the national spotlight last week when she was prevented from speaking in the House after telling lawmakers backing a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors that they would have blood on their hands.
APRIL 26, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Republican leaders have voted to bar a transgender state lawmaker from the House floor in retaliation for rebuking colleagues – and then participating in protests – after they voted to ban gender-affirming care for children. The decision Wednesday (April 26, 2023) has brought the nationwide debate over protest’s role in democracy to Montana, where lawmakers punished Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr for voicing dissent on Wednesday. Earlier in the week a protest in support of her actions disrupted the House session. Similar to recent events in the Tennessee Statehouse, there has been a firestorm of debate around the country about who has a voice in an elected body during this politically polarizing time.
Extended version:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Republicans barred transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the House floor on Wednesday (April 26, 2023), wielding “decorum” rules after she rebuked colleagues supporting a ban on gender-affirming care for children and protested their efforts to silence her.
The punishment marks the first time in nearly half a century that Montana lawmakers have sought such disciplinary action against one of their own. It caps a weeklong standoff between Zephyr and House Republican leaders and formalizes their decision to silence her for saying that those voting in favor of the ban would have blood on their hands.
Zephyr will still be able to vote and participate in committees, but not discuss proposals and amendments under consideration in the full House. The legislative session is set to end in early May.
The fight over Zephyr’s remarks has brought the nationwide debate over protest’s role in democracy to Montana, where lawmakers punished her for voicing dissent, an increasingly prevalent move in statehouses.
Supporting Zephyr’s attempts to regain her voice, protesters interrupted proceedings earlier this week by chanting “Let her Speak” in a boisterous rally that came after they protested outside the Capitol and unfurled a banner that read “Democracy Dies Here.”
After days of rebuffing Zephyr’s request to speak, Republican leaders finally granted her the floor to give a statement before they ultimately voted to discipline her Wednesday. She said her initial “blood on your hands” remark and subsequent decision to thrust a microphone into the air toward protesters in the House gallery were an effort to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community and her constituents in Missoula.
House Speaker Matt Regier’s decision to turn off her microphone, she said, was an attempt to drive “a nail in the coffin of democracy.”
“If you use decorum to silence people who hold you accountable, then all you’re doing is using decorum as a tool of oppression,” Zephyr told her colleagues.
House Republicans who supported barring Zephyr from the floor have accused her of placing lawmakers and staff at risk of harm for disrupting House proceedings and inciting protests in the chamber on Monday.
But lawmakers were on the floor Monday when protesters were in the gallery, and there have been no reports of damage to the building.
“Freedom in this body involves obedience to all the rules of this body, including the rules of decorum,” House Majority Leader Sue Vinton said.
Authorities arrested seven people in the confrontation, who Zephyr said were defending democracy. Her opponents said ensuring government can conduct business on behalf of the people without interruption was a critical precedent to set.
“This is an assault on our representative democracy, spirited debate, and the free expression of ideas cannot flourish in an atmosphere of turmoil and incivility,” Republican David Bedey said on the House floor.
The episode comes weeks after two Black lawmakers, Tennessee state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, were expelled for participating in a protest in favor of gun control after another school shooting. Similarly, Zephyr’s punishment has ignited a firestorm of debate about governance and who has a voice in an elected body during this politically polarizing time.
Post-expulsion, the fate of the two Tennessee lawmakers were sent to their county commissions, which swiftly voted to reinstate them. Zephyr told The Associated Press after the vote that Republican leaders were likely aware that a similar sequence of events could be triggered, had they expelled her.
“My community and the Democratic Party in Missoula would send me back here in a heartbeat because I represent them and I represent their values by standing up for democracy,” she said.
In Missoula, the county Democratic Party Chair Andy Nelson said Zephyr’s constituents and supporters were disheartened to see her disciplined.
“What it comes down to is the silencing of not just Rep. Zephyr, but the 11,000 people she serves,” he said after the decision.
The punishment comes two days after protesters later packed into the gallery at the Statehouse and brought House proceedings to a halt chanting “Let her speak” as Zephyr lifted her microphone toward them. Seven subsequent arrests galvanized both her supporters and those saying Zephyr’s actions constitute an unacceptable attack on civil discourse.
The far-right Montana Freedom Caucus, which had pushed for Zephyr to be censured, said in a statement that her actions in support of the protesters were “nothing more than an ego trip.” The caucus again on Wednesday deliberately misgendered Zephyr by using incorrect pronouns when referring to her.
“There needs to be some consequences for what he has been doing,” said Rep. Joe Read, a member of the caucus who frequently and inconsistently used incorrect pronouns for Zephyr.
He claimed Zephyr gave a signal to her supporters just before Monday’s session was disrupted. He declined to say what that was other than a “strange movement.”
“When she gave the signal for protesters to go into action, I would say that’s when decorum was incredibly broken,” Read added.
Zephyr told the AP that she felt the moment was calling on her to stand up for democracy.
“Every time that one of these votes came; every time the speaker refused to allow me to speak; when the protesters came and demanded, my thought was twofold,” she said. “Pride in those who stood up to defend democracy and a hope that in some small way, I could rise to that moment individually and do the work they sent me to do.”
APRIL 26, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana Republican leaders will vote on censuring or expelling a transgender state lawmaker who has been silenced in the House for comments against a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for children. On Tuesday night (April 25, 2023), Democratic, Rep. Zooey Zephyr tweeted a letter she received from House leaders informing her of the plan to consider disciplinary action against against her on Wednesday. She says she will be given a chance to speak. A protest against Zephyr being silenced disrupted the House floor session on Monday and she stood defiantly on the floor with her microphone raised. The House won’t be disrupted on Wednesday because the gallery will be closed.
APRIL 25, 2023, UPDATE:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A standoff has endured over whether Montana Republicans will let a transgender Democrat in the state House participate in proceedings. Protests and arrests have galvanized those demanding Rep. Zooey Zephyr be allowed to speak and others saying her actions constitute an unprecedented attack on civil discourse. The Montana Freedom Caucus re-upped their demands of legislative leaders to discipline Zephyr after protesters chanting on her behalf interrupted proceedings in the Statehouse on Monday (April 24, 2023). The standoff continues to boil and will likely take on expanded significance in the nationwide debate over the role of protest in democracy.
APRIL 25, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Republican legislative leaders in Montana persisted in forbidding Democratic transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from participating in debate for a second week and her supporters brought the House session to a halt Monday (April 24, 2023)— chanting “Let her speak!” from the gallery before they were escorted out. Zephyr told supporters earlier Monday she planned to continue to speak forcefully against legislation that members of the transgender community consider matters of life and death. Republican leaders in the GOP-controlled Legislature have told the first-term Democrat that she must first apologize for saying they would have “blood on their hands” if they banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
APRIL 21, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A transgender Montana lawmaker is still being blocked from speaking on the chamber’s floor following her refusal to apologize for saying lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr on Friday (April 21, 2023) sought to speak on a bill to prevent minors from seeing pornography online. but the House upheld the speaker’s ruling from Thursday to again block her from being recognized. The bill at the heart of the issue is in the hands of Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. He has indicated he will sign it.
APRIL 19, 2023:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A group of conservative Republican lawmakers in Montana has deliberately misgendered a transgender lawmaker in a letter demanding that she be censured for language she used on the floor in speaking against a bill that would ban gender-affirming medical care for children. The Montana Freedom Caucus called for a “commitment to civil discourse,” in the same sentence in which they misgendered Rep. Zooey Zephyr. Lawmakers were debating Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s proposed amendments to the transgender medical care bill on Tuesday (April 18, 2023) when Zephyr said lawmakers who supported the bill would have blood on their hands. House Majority Leader Sue Vinton called for civil debate.
Extended version:
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A group of conservative Republican lawmakers in Montana deliberately misgendered a transgender colleague in demanding that she be censured for language she used on the floor while speaking against a bill that would ban gender-affirming medical care for children.
The Montana Freedom Caucus posted its demand on Twitter Tuesday evening (April 18, 2023— on letterhead bearing the names of 21 lawmakers — arguing that Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr should be punished “for trying to shame the Montana legislative body and by using inappropriate and uncalled-for language during a floor debate.”
The caucus called for a “commitment to civil discourse,” while misgendering Zephyr in the same sentence. The caucus also misgendered Zephyr in the Tweet.
“It is disheartening that the Montana Freedom Caucus would stoop so low as to misgender me in their letter, further demonstrating their disregard for the dignity and humanity of transgender individuals,” Zephyr said in a statement Wednesday. “Their call for ‘civility and respect’ is hypocritical given their actions.”
Lawmakers were debating Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s proposed amendments to the transgender medical care bill on Tuesday when Zephyr, referring to the prayer given prior to every floor session, said: “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.”
House Majority Leader Sue Vinton stood and said: “I will note that this is entirely inappropriate, disrespectful and uncalled for. We can debate matters civilly and with respect for each other.” Vinton had earlier risen in opposition to Zephyr’s statement that lawmakers should be ashamed of themselves if they supported the bill.
“The language used by the so-called Freedom Caucus, including the intentional and repeated misgendering of Rep. Zephyr, is blatantly disrespectful and the farthest thing imaginable from the ‘commitment to civil discourse’ that these letter writers demand,” House Minority Leader Kim Abbott said in a statement. “I find it incredibly ironic that these legislators are making demands of others that they refuse to abide by themselves.”
Republican Sen. Theresa Manzella, chair of the Montana Freedom Caucus, did not immediately respond to emailed questions Wednesday.
Madison Atkinson, the spokesperson for the House Republicans, did not say whether House leadership planned to act on the caucus’ request.
“House Leadership is focused on maintaining decorum on the House floor, and the integrity of the Montana House of Representatives while serving the people of Montana,” she said in a statement.
The exchange on the House floor and the caucus response is an example of the polarization seen in legislatures around the country as they debate bills affecting the transgender community.
Earlier this month in Kansas, House lawmakers overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill banning transgender female athletes from girls’ and women’s sports from kindergarten through college. Two LGBTQ+ Democratic lawmakers were upset because they believed Republicans were gloating over the vote.
Rep. Heather Meyer, who also has a transgender son, stood, opened her jacket and displayed a “Protect Trans Youth” T-shirt before making a rude gesture as she left the chamber. Rep. Susan Ruiz yelled at GOP members, briefly cursing at them before being told she was out of order.
In a number of states, transgender people who have testified against legislation that target their rights have been met with demeaning questions and rhetoric from Republican lawmakers.
Zephyr began her comments Tuesday by criticizing a letter from the governor explaining his proposed amendments to the gender-affirming care bill. In it, the governor said he had met with transgender residents and said Montanans who struggle with gender identity deserve love, compassion and respect.
“That’s not what trans Montanans need from you,” Zephyr said. “We need access to the medical care that saves our lives.”
“I stand by my accurate description of the devastating consequences of banning essential medical care for transgender youth,” Zephyr’s statement said. The gender-affirming care ban “is part of an alarming trend of anti-trans legislation in our state, which includes over a dozen unconstitutional bills. These bills ban our art forms, our stories, our healthcare, and our very existence in Montana code.”
The legislature has considered a bill that sought to ban drag story hours, but it has been amended. It has passed a bill saying it’s not illegal discrimination for a school student to misgender or deadname a fellow student, unless it rises to the level of bullying. The legislature also is moving another bill to put a binary definition of male and female into state code.
Zephyr said Tuesday that lawmakers and the governor had received a letter from an emergency room physician who said a transgender teenager cited the legislature’s actions as the reason for their suicide attempt. “My state doesn’t want me,” the doctor reported the patient as having said.
The House and Senate gave final approval to the governor’s amendments Wednesday. The bill will now go to the governor for his signature.
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