HELENA, Mont. — Montana Republicans on Wednesday barred transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the House floor for the rest of the 2023 session in retaliation for her participation in protests after she was silenced for rebuking colleagues who supported a ban on gender-affirming care for children.
The punishment marks the first time in nearly half a century that Montana lawmakers have sought such disciplinary action against one of their own. It caps a weeklong standoff between Zephyr and House Republican leaders and formalizes their decision to not let her speak since she said those supportive of such a ban would have blood on their hands.
Zephyr will be able to vote and participate in committees, but not discuss proposals and amendments under consideration in the full House. The legislative session is set to end in early May.
The fight over Zephyr’s remarks has brought the nationwide debate over protest’s role in democracy to Montana, where lawmakers punished her for voicing dissent.
Supporting Zephyr’s attempts to regain her voice, protesters interrupted proceedings earlier this week by chanting “Let her Speak” in a boisterous rally that came after they protested outside the Capitol and unfurled a banner that read “Democracy Dies Here.”
After days of rebuffing Zephyr’s request to speak, Republican leaders finally granted her the floor to give a statement before they ultimately voted to discipline her Wednesday. She said her initial “blood on your hands” remark and subsequent decision to thrust a microphone into the air toward protesters in the House gallery were an effort to stand up for the LGBTQ+ community and her constituents in Missoula.
House Speaker Matt Regier’s decision to turn off her microphone, she said, was an attempt to drive “a nail in the coffin of democracy.”
“If you use decorum to silence people who hold you accountable, then all you’re doing is using decorum as a tool of oppression,” Zephyr told her colleagues.
House Republicans who supported barring Zephyr from the floor have accused her of placing lawmakers and staff at risk of harm for disrupting House proceedings and inciting protests in the chamber on Monday.
But lawmakers were on the floor Monday when protesters were in the gallery, and there have been no reports of damage to the building.
The episode comes weeks after two Black lawmakers, Tennessee state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, were expelled for participating in a protest in favor of gun control after another school shooting.
