"When You Bow To Pray I Hope You See The Blood On Your Hands" - Trans Rep Condemns 4 Anti-Trans Bills In Montana

Rep. Zooey Zephyr condemned Republicans voting for a gender affirming care ban and two other anti-trans bills.

Montana’s legislature considered four anti-trans bills in a single day, and Representative Zooey Zephyr, a transgender woman, sat through every one of them. One bill would force transgender people to have their birth sex on their drivers licenses, death certificates, and more. Another would force teachers to misgender trans students. Yet another bill would outlaw “transgenderism” on the internet anywhere minors are present. On the House floor while hearing the final bill, Rep. Zephyr had enough and shamed the body for their attacks on trans people.

The bill being heard on the floor was Senate Bill 99, a ban that will force transgender youth in the state of Montana off of their medication, leading to their forced detransition. The bill had already passed both chambers in recent weeks, but the governor used an amendment veto because the way in which the bill defined sex did not cover all intended scenarios around the ban. If representatives concurred with the governors amendments, the bill would go on to pass and transgender youth in the state would be forced off of their medication.

That’s when she stood and condemned the body, saying that the house should be ashamed to even consider the bill. When Majority Leader Sue Vinton stood to interrupt her, she retorted, “If you vote yes on this bill, and you vote yes on this amendment, I hope the next time there’s an invocation and you bow your head in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”

See the exchange:

Representative Zephyr channeled the anger the trans community and allies feel over the immense onslaught of bills brought by state legislatures with Republican Supermajorities targeting the trans community. Earlier in committee hearings, representatives from every major Montana medical organization spoke out against the bill, saying it will result in dead trans youth by way of suicide.

At least one physician in a local emergency department reported a suicide attempt over these bills :

I am writing to share an experience from my work that is relevant to the work you are doing in Helena. I work as an emergency medicine physician, and during a shift this week a partner of mine came to share his distress about a young suicidal teen he was caring for. He had asked the teen what their biggest stressors were, and at the top of the list the teen, who happened to be transgender, referenced the current legislative session and told my partner, “My state doesn’t want me.” Please consider that statement and let it sink in. This young teen is so distressed by the laws that you all have been discussing and passing, that they were driven to want to kill themselves.

The full letter is presented here, as reported to Rep. Zephyr:

Letter to Montana Legislators over SB99

Gender affirming care saves lives. We have already seen countless testimony in several state hearings across the country of medical experts affirming this. The studies affirm it as well. One study showed a 73% lower suicide rate for people who were allowed gender affirming care. Another showed a 40% reduction in attempts over the last year. In fact, recently, The Center for the Study of Inequality at Cornell University compiled 51 studies showing improved mental and physical outcomes for those allowed to transition.

On this same day, Montana's legislature considered several other anti-trans bills, demonstrating the state's regressive stance on transgender issues. One such bill, HB458, aims to effectively erase transgender individuals from the legal landscape, prohibiting changes to gender markers on vital documents like birth certificates, death certificates, and driver's licenses. Meanwhile, SB518 seeks to allow teachers to misgender trans students if a parent objects to their gender identity - but offers no protection for correctly gendering students should a parent demand respect for their child's identity. Another proposed bill seeks to amend an anti-porn act, barring "acts of transgenderism" from any platform without age-verification, essentially instituting a statewide blackout on transgender visibility.

See the provisions of that act here:

Provisions from a newly released amendment to an anti-porn bill.

Senate Bill 99 bill did go on to pass the Montana legislature. Montana seems determined to claim the dubious distinction of being one of the most inhospitable states for transgender individuals. Today's legislative hearings felt like a distillation of the most egregious bills and proceedings from across the country. Transgender people are facing mounting attacks from lawmakers in their states, making the presence of transgender representatives like Rep. Zephyr in Montana all the more crucial. Their presence serves to expose the harm inflicted on this community for the world to witness.

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