Let Her Speak - Representative Zephyr's Support Grows As GOP Refuses To Let Trans Elected Speak On Any Bill

Speaker Matt Regier has declared that he will no longer recognize Rep. Zooey Zephyr to speak immediately after the body passed a bill erasing trans people from all Montana code.

Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the first transgender woman elected to Montana's legislature, attended a Montana House of Representatives session to oppose an anti-transgender bill that would remove references to transgender individuals from more than 40 sections of state code. The bill, which would define sex in a way that excludes trans people, was one of over a dozen heard this year. The previous day, her strong speech against the gender affirming care ban the state had passed led to the Montana Freedom Caucus calling for her censure while intentionally and repeatedly misgendering her. When she punched in, they refused to recognize her to speak, and instead moved forward to pass the bill.

Tensions flared on the House Floor when the entire Democratic Caucus rose to demand that she be permitted to speak. In a strikingly undemocratic move, Republican House Speaker Regier declined to allow it, asserting that he could refuse to allow anyone to speak at his discretion. When Minority Leader Abbott objected, they moved to a packed rules committee meeting, which upheld the ruling. Following that, the Speaker stated it was his intent to no longer allow Representative Zephyr to speak moving forward.

You can watch how it unfolded here:

In subsequent news reports, we have learned that Speaker Regier does not intend to allow Representative Zephyr to speak moving forward. Indeed for the rest of the day, Rep. Zephyr punched in on multiple occasions to speak and was refused recognition each time. Speaker Regier has demanded an “apology” as a first step for when she accurately and pointedly stated that the people who vote for a bill that would forcibly detransition trans youth would have “blood on their hands.”

Gender affirming care saves lives, and Rep. Zephyr passionately argued that on debate for Senate Bill 99 the day before. It has been shown to reduce suicide rates of transgender youth by up to 73% in the latest Journal of the American Medical Association article on the topic. Transgender people know the trauma that lack of access to care causes. That trauma is further compounded when you remove the care from people already receiving it.

Speaking to the Montana Free Press, she spoke about the profoundly detrimental impact these bills have on trans people in the state:

“I have lost friends to suicide this year,” she said. “I field the calls from multiple families who dealt with suicide attempts, with trans youth who have fled the state, people who have been attacked on the side of the road, because of legislation like this. I spoke with clarity and precision about the harm these bills do. And they say they want an apology, but what they really want is silence as they take away the rights of trans and queer Montanans.” 

There have been undemocratic moves to silence minority legislators all over the United States in recent months. This is not the first time a transgender representative has been silenced. Just a month ago, Representative Mauree Turner, the state’s first nonbinary representative, was censured for their own protests against anti-trans bills in the state. Just two weeks ago, two lawmakers were expelled in Tennessee for a demonstration on the House Floor. The GOP has shown an increased willingness to silence all criticism in states where they maintain a supermajority.

Representative Zooey Zephyr released a statement of her intent moving forward. She says that she will continue to advocate for her community and her constituents, and that “no amount of silencing tactics will prevent her from doing that.”

Read her statement here:

Statement from Representative Zooey Zephyr

Rep. Zephyr received an outpouring of support from leaders and communities around the United States. The Montana American Indian Caucus, a bipartisan group, released a statement supporting her following the cutting off of American Indian Representative Stewart Peregoy for calling the move fascist. The Montana Democratic Party has likewise released a statement in support. Lawmakers around the United States shared her statement, such as Rep. Gloria Johnson of the Tennessee Three and Senator Mallory McMorrow of Michigan. These are just a handful of hundreds of elected officials and organizations that have rallied to her support.

Moving forward, we will see if Republican legislators continue to support their speaker in not allowing Rep. Zephyr to speak. If they do, the move is likely to be met with fierce resistance from the local community. Increasingly, her story is getting coverage in prominent sections of major media outlets such as the Associated Press and the New York Times. Just last night, her story made it to the top of Reddit’s front page.

Disclosure: Representative Zephyr is this author’s romantic partner.