Montana House votes to formally punish transgender lawmaker Rep. Zooey Zephyr

April 26th, 2023

Rep. Zooey Zephyr speaking on the House floor in Helena, Mont., on April 26, 2023 shortly before Republicans voted to formally punish Zephyr by barring her from attending or speaking during House session.
Shaylee Ragar / Shaylee Ragar

Republicans, who dominate the Montana House of Representatives, have voted Wednesday to formally punish Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr.

Zephyr, who is transgender, has been blocked from speaking since last Tuesday when she told supporters of a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors that she hoped they would see “blood on [their] hands.” There, she was alluding to studies that show that transgender health care can reduce suicidality in youth.

The formal punishment decided Wednesday bans Zephyr from attending or speaking during floor sessions. She will only be allowed to vote remotely in the remaining days of the legislative session. It’s a lesser punishment than expulsion, which was also on the table according to House leadership.

“If you use decorum to silence people who hold you accountable, all you are doing is using decorum as a tool of oppression,” Zephyr said during the debate Wednesday.

The background

The Montana controversy comes about three weeks after the Tennessee House voted to expel state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin J. Pearson for using a megaphone on the floor during a gun reform protest. Both Jones and Pearson were reinstated by local councils shortly after.

Monday, seven people were arrested during a demonstration in the House gallery in protest of Zephyr being blocked from speaking for three consecutive days. Republican leaders condemned the events as “a riot.”

Speaker of the House Matt Regier says Zephyr, the first transgender woman elected to office, violated the rules of the chamber during debate over a bill to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. He said she would be blocked from speaking on the floor unless she apologized.

Zephyr says she stands by her comments. In a notice, Republican leaders cited the section of the Montana Constitution that gives authority to the Legislature to “expel or punish a member for good cause” with a two-thirds majority vote. Republicans hold such a supermajority in the House.

House Minority Leader Kim Abbott says her caucus will hold Republicans accountable for their “anti-democratic agenda.” The public gallery will be closed for Wednesday’s proceedings when the House will vote on whether to discipline Zephyr.

Members are still under a tight deadline. Montana’s Constitution says it must adjourn in eight days, and they’ve yet to finish piecing together a budget, typically their most important task.