Montana transgender lawmaker silenced again
Republican legislative leaders in Montana persisted in forbidding Democratic transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from participating in debate for a second week as her supporters brought the House session to a halt Monday — chanting “Let her speak!” from the gallery before they were escorted out. In the initial moments after proceedings were paused Monday afternoon, Zephyr defiantly hoisted a non-functioning microphone into the air as her supporters interrupted proceedings for nearly half an hour after Republicans denied her requests to speak on a proposal that would have restricted when children could change the names and pronouns they use in school and required their parents’ consent. The interruption is the latest development in a three-day fight over Zephyr’s remarks against lawmakers who support a ban on gender-affirming care. Zephyr, who is transgender and a first-term Democrat representative from Missoula, hasn’t been allowed to speak on the statehouse floor since Thursday because she told her Republican colleagues last week they would have “blood on their hands” if they banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
