Trans Lawmaker Rips 'Unprecedented' Republican Effort to Silence Her
Republicans.Montana House Speaker Matt Regier, a Republican, on Thursday announced Democratic state Representative Zooey Zephyr will not be allowed to speak about bills on the House floor until she apologizes for comments she made in regards to a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.Zephyr, the first transgender woman to be elected to the Montana state legislature, drew the ire of conservative House members on Tuesday.
While referencing the session's opening prayer, she said of lawmakers that supported the bill: "I hope the next time there's an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands."The move highlights the tension between Zephyr and state Republicans.
As the Associated Press previously reported, Zephyr "was deliberately" misgendered "by some conservative lawmakers demanding her censure," including in a tweet from a caucus that sought her censure.However, despite the GOP's call for her to apologize, she has refused to do so.
As a result, Regier did not acknowledge her on Thursday when she tried to comment on a bill that would put a binary definition of male and female into Montana code.
