Montana House Republicans discipline Rep Zooey Zephyr

Image source, Reuters

Montana Republican lawmakers have voted to bar transgender Democratic lawmaker Zooey Zephyr from the House chamber.

She sparked a backlash last week when she said lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they restricted medical care for transgender youth.

Ahead of Wednesday’s vote she vowed to “do what I have always done: I will rise in support of my community”.

Republicans accused her of stoking violence and violating the chamber’s decorum with her comment.

On 18 April Rep Zephyr registered her opposition to a proposed bill that would ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth in Montana.

“I hope the next time there’s an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,” Rep Zephyr said in reference to the high rates of suicide risk among transgender youth and adults.

Wednesday’s vote split along party lines with 32 Democrats voting against punishment and 68 Republicans – two-thirds of the chamber – voting against her.

Rep Zephyr will keep her seat, but the measure bars her from being present on the House floor, anteroom, or galleries. She will only be allowed to participate in votes remotely.

Republican Majority Leader Sue Vinton, who introduced the motion, told lawmakers during debate on Wednesday that Rep Zephyr’s actions put lawmakers and staff “at risk of harm”.

The move is the latest escalation in an heated culture-war debate playing out across the US over transgender rights.

It is also the second recent case of a Republican-controlled legislative body moving to punish Democratic lawmakers who spoke in opposition to policies conservatives support. Earlier this month, Tennessee Republicans voted to expel two black Democrats who led protests on the legislature floor in favour of gun safety in the days following a mass shooting.

Rep Zephyr, who represents the Missoula area, is the first openly transgender lawmaker elected in the state of Montana, and one of a handful of transgender lawmakers serving in state houses across the US.

On Wednesday, she said the Montana state legislature “systematically” attacked the LGBT community.

“When I rose up and said there is blood on your hands, I was not being hyperbolic,” she said. “I was speaking to be real consequences of the votes that we as legislators take in this body.”

In a longer statement, she continued: “Though the Republicans supermajority has voted to strip me of my ability to partake in debate, I remain steadfast in my commitment to my community.”

Her comment last week immediately sparked conservative ire.

The influential Montana Freedom Caucus issued a statement condemning her remarks. The statement misgendered Rep Zephyr and accused her of using “inappropriate and uncalled-for language during a floor debate”.

The representative claims that the Republican-led House chamber has refused to allow her to speak on the floor since her speech.

Republican Speaker Matt Reiger pushed back against Rep Zephyr’s claim that his party had silenced her.

“Currently, all representatives are free to participate in House debates while following the House rules,” Mr Regier told reporters on Tuesday. “The only person silencing Rep Zephyr is Rep Zephyr. The Montana House will not be bullied.”

Members of Republican leadership did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

Montana is one of several conservative-controlled states that have considered or passed legislation aimed at restricting gender-affirming medical care for transgender children and adults.

Ahead of the vote, Rep Zephyr told BBC News that she chose her words condemning the proposed legislation “with precision”.

“I have received calls from families whose trans teenagers attempted suicide while watching hearings in my state,” she said.

On Monday, protesters who support Rep Zephyr gathered at the state capitol in Helena and chanted, “Let her speak!”

A handful of protesters were arrested. The public was barred from Wednesday’s meeting of the legislature.

“This action against Rep Zooey Zephyr is clearly an attack on the lives of trans people in Montana – and on a legislator who is only working to serve and defend her community,” Josie Caballero of the the National Center for Transgender Equality told the BBC in a statement.