The Republican-controlled Montana House voted Wednesday to discipline Democratic state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the state’s first transgender lawmaker. Zephyr is barred from participating on the House floor for the remainder of the 2023 session, but will be allowed to vote remotely.
Zephyr had been prevented by Republicans from debating a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors after telling her colleagues that they would have blood on their hands if it passed. Her silencing led to protests from her constituents, seven of whom were arrested Monday while protesting in the House chamber.
“When I rose up and said ‘there is blood on your hands,’ I was not being hyperbolic,” Zephyr said while addressing the House before the disciplinary vote. “I was speaking to the real consequences of the votes that we, as legislators, take in this body. And when the speaker asks me to apologize on behalf of decorum, what he is really asking me to do is be silent when my community is facing bills that get us killed.”
House Speaker Matt Regier had previously said that “the only person silencing Rep. Zephyr is Rep. Zephyr. The Montana House will not be bullied. All 100 representatives will continue to be treated the same.”
In a letter demanding the Zephyr be censured last week, the Montana Freedom Caucus misgendered Zephyr. The letter, signed by 21 members of the House, said she should be punished “for trying to shame the Montana legislative body and by using inappropriate and uncalled-for language during a floor debate.”
This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.