Montana Republicans barred transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the House floor for the rest of the 2023 session in retaliation for her rebuking colleagues — and then participating in protests — after they voted to ban gender-affirming care for children.
HELENA, Mont. — Montana Republicans barred transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the House floor for the rest of the 2023 session on Wednesday in retaliation for her rebuking colleagues — and then participating in protests — after they voted to ban gender-affirming care for children.
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 censure her Wednesday. She said her initial "blood on your hands" remark and subsequent decision to hoist a microphone into the air toward protesters in the House gallery were an effort to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community and her 11,000 constituents in Missoula.
But lawmakers were on the floor Monday when protesters were in the gallery, and there have been no reports of damage to the building. Montana Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr hoists a microphone into the air on Monday as her supporters interrupt proceedings in the state House by chanting "Let Her Speak!" in Helena, Mont. Republican leaders in the Legislature didn't let Zephyr, who is transgender, speak on the floor for the third consecutive day because she refuses to apologize for calling GOP lawmakers out for supporting a ban on gender-affirming care.
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. 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."
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Montana GOP bans trans lawmaker from 2023 House sessionFor the past week, Rep. Zooey Zephyr has been forbidden from speaking on the House floor. A protest against lawmakers silencing Zephyr disrupted Monday’s House session. Authorities arrested s…
Read more »
Montana House GOP votes to ban trans Democratic lawmaker from chamberRep. Zephyr has not been acknowledged on the House floor since April 18.
Read more »
Montana transgender lawmaker barred by GOP from House floorRepublicans barred Zooey Zephyr from the House floor for the rest of the 2023 session, acting in retribution for protests against a previous decision to silence her.
Read more »
Montana transgender lawmaker barred by GOP from House floorMontana 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
Read more »
Zooey Zephyr: Montana transgender state House member says GOP members seeking 'disciplinary consequences'The Democrat has not been allowed to speak on the state House floor since she declared that legislators who voted in favor of a ban on gender-affirming care would have 'blood on your hands.'
Read more »