Global Courant 2023-04-27 12:32:35
Despite being silenced by the Montana legislature, Representative Zooey Zephyr has vowed to keep fighting.
Zephyr, a Democratic legislator who identifies as a transgender woman, said she believes critics have only reinforced her message to people in her district and across the country, despite her colleagues voting to denounce her from the legislative chamber.
“There are a lot more eyes on Montana now,” Zephyr told The Associated Press. “But you’re doing the same thing you’ve always done. You’re standing up in defense of your community and you… stand for the principles they’ve chosen you to stand for.”
Zephyr is not deterred, however, and said she intends to continue doing the job she was chosen to do: representing her constituents.
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Rep. Zooey Zephyr sits for a portrait at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Tommy Martino)
Zephyr, 34, was thrust into the national spotlight last week after lawmakers criticized colleagues who supported a bill that would ban medical care for menopausal minors by telling them they 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 during the debate. SB99.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, is leaving the Montana House of Representatives after lawmakers voted Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at the state capitol in Helena, Montana, to ban her from the chamber. (Thom Bridge/independent recording via AP)
After she refused to apologize for the comments, as critics demanded, Republicans led the chamber by a vote of 68 to 32 to bar Zephyr from the House floor. She also cannot enter the front room or gallery as a result of the mood.
“It’s strange people around the world and it’s other representatives’ voters who say, ‘They won’t listen’ when it comes to these issues. It’s the employees in this building who, when no one is looking, come forward and say ‘Thank you,'” Zephyr said.
Zephyr is still allowed to vote remotely.
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The disapproval vote was held after House Speaker Matt Regier said Zephyr’s comments violated decorum rules.
“The Montana House will not be bullied,” Regier said earlier this week.
House Speaker Matt Regier looks on during a session for the Montana House of Representatives at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., on April 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Tommy Martino)
“My colleague not only violated decency, but also violated the trust of the other 99 delegates,” Montana State Representative Braxton Mitchell told Fox News Digital. “The hate-filled comments were an act of self-service, not public service.”
Zephyr compared her activism and subsequent silence to an incident in Tennessee where state lawmakers voted to expel two black lawmakers for participating in a gun control protest following a Nashville school shooting that killed three children and three adults.
The two legislatures have since been reinstated.
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“That’s exactly what I’m talking about, when young black men stand up and say, ‘We have a gun violence problem in this country,’ and you don’t recognize it, you don’t take action on it,” Zephyr said. told the Associated Press.
Zephyr, mocking her critics, said, “Your voices shouldn’t be here. We’re going to send you away.”
Zephyr ultimately did not apologize, but said: “When there are bills targeting the LGBTQ community, I stand up to defend my community. And I choose my words with clarity and precision and I spoke about the real damage these entail bills.”
State Representative Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, alone on the house floor stands in protest as protesters are arrested in the house gallery, Monday, April 24, 2023, at the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont. (Thom Bridge/independent recording via AP)
The situation in Montana has caused an uproar across the country as several lawmakers and others have expressed their views on social media.
“The attack in Montana on Rep. Zephyr is an attack on all of us,” said Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt.
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“It’s so important that we don’t shut up about this from state to state,” said Hunt, who has a transgender son and is leading a similar legislative effort to promote transitional care for children in her state. “And it’s so important that people stand up to this emerging movement, this radical movement, and say it’s not welcome.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
