State Rep. Zooey Zephyr exits the Home of Representatives on the Montana State Capitol in Helena, Mont., on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. Tommy Martino, Related Press
After weeks of turmoil between lawmakers in Montana’s Home of Representatives, one lawmaker ended up being censured and barred from taking part on Home flooring for the rest of the legislative session.
The lawmaker in query is Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who's a transgender girl — the Legislature’s first identified transgender member.
Why was Rep. Zooey Zephyr blocked from the Montana Home?
Tensions rose when Zephyr took the Home flooring throughout the April 18 session throughout debates about a invoice that might prohibit “sure medical and surgical remedies to deal with minors with gender dysphoria.”
“This physique must be ashamed,” Zephyr mentioned, per The New York Instances. “If you happen to vote sure on this invoice and sure on these amendments I hope the subsequent time there’s an invocation, while you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood in your arms.”
On Monday, a rally passed off exterior the Capitol, which led to protesters packing into the gallery and “introduced Home proceedings to a halt whereas chanting ‘Let her communicate,’” The Related Press reported.
The incident “galvanized each these demanding she be allowed to talk and people saying her actions represent an unacceptable assault on civil discourse,” per AP.
In response to her speech and the protests, a bunch of conservative lawmakers, referred to as the Montana Freedom Caucus, wrote a joint letter calling for her to be censured “for making an attempt to disgrace the Montana legislative physique and through the use of inappropriate and uncalled-for language throughout a flooring debate.”
On Wednesday, the censure was dropped at a vote within the Republican-controlled chamber and reached a 68 to 32 majority, per the Instances.
In accordance with CBS Information, Zephyr “shall be allowed to vote remotely” for the rest of the legislative session.
Home Majority Chief Sue Vinton supported the selection to bar Zephyr from the Home flooring and “accused her of putting lawmakers and employees susceptible to hurt for her actions throughout protests within the chamber on Monday,” CBS Information reported.
“Freedom on this physique entails obedience to all the principles of this physique, together with the principles of decorum,” Vinton mentioned, per CBS Information.
Zephyr advised CNN, “We now have every week and a half left of the session, and we’ll be masking necessary subjects — housing payments, the state’s finances — and each invoice that goes ahead for the rest of this session, there shall be 11,000 Montanans whose consultant is lacking, whose voices can't be heard on these payments.”