Global Courant 2023-04-29 14:36:13
Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill on Friday banning sex reassignment treatments for minors.
Senate Bill 99 passed after state House Republicans approved it earlier this week. The governor’s signature also comes after controversy over a transgender state legislator’s opposition to the bill.
Democrat Rep. Zooey Zephyr was censured by House Republicans on Wednesday in response to an April 18 testimony alleging that GOP lawmakers who support the measure would have blood on their hands.
“All I will say is if you vote yes to this bill and yes to these amendments, I hope the next time there is an incantation when you bow your head in prayer you see the blood on your hands” said Zephyr. the time.
TRANS MONTANA LAWMAKER HAS OUT TO GOP COLLEAGUES DURING HOUSEHOLD DEBATE: ‘BLOOD ON YOUR HANDS’
Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte signed a bill on Friday banning sex reassignment treatments for minors. (Getty)
The legislation prohibits puberty blockers, sex hormones and transgender surgeries on children. Similar bills have been pushed in other GOP-led states across the country.
Zephyr also claimed that denying youth medical care for gender reassignment “amounts to torture” and that a ban would lead to more suicides among transgender children.
The censure, passed by a vote of 68 to 32, means Zephyr will be barred from the House Floor for the rest of the legislative session, which ends May 10. The legislature is still allowed to vote by distance.
Republican lawmakers accused Zephyr of presenting “hate-filled testimony” during the April 18 testimony. They initially responded to Zephyr’s statements on the floor by turning off her microphone. Republican speaker Matt Regier also later refused to acknowledge Zephyr’s request to speak on a separate bill to include a binary definition of male and female in the state code.
Republicans in the Montana House of Representatives voted to bar Representative Zephyr from the remainder of the House of Representatives’ term. (AP Photo/Tommy Martino)
MONTANA TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER BLOCKED FROM HOUSE FLOOR AFTER ‘HATE-FILLED TESTIMONY’
Speaking before the censure vote, Zephyr claimed to be standing up for “democracy itself.”
“If you use decorum to silence people who hold you accountable, then you’re only using decorum as a means of suppression,” Zephyr said.
Protesters gathered in the stands of the Montana Statehouse earlier this week to demand that Zephyr be allowed to speak. Seven arrests were made Monday in connection with the protest. Zephyr said the arrested people were “defending democracy”.
The legislation prohibits puberty blockers, sex hormones and transgender surgeries on children. (Getty)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
U.S. Senator Jon Tester, who represents Montana, said the censure is “extreme” and “undemocratic.”
“I have served in the Montana legislature for years and worked with everyone to get things done for Montana,” he wrote in a tweet Friday. “Let’s be clear: Banning a duly elected representative is an extreme, undemocratic move that hurts the thousands of Montana residents who have lost a voice in their government.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
