Constituents rallied for Rep. Zooey Zephyr after GOP banned her from the Montana House floor

Supporters of Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) rallied in Missoula on Friday, after Republicans banned the state’s first transgender lawmaker from the state house floor for the rest of the legislative session.

In a 68­–32 vote last Wednesday, the GOP-controlled Montana House of Representatives barred Zephyr from the chamber in retaliation for an impassioned speech she gave from the House floor opposing a bill that would outlaw gender-affirming care for young people.

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No, seriously. Stop whatever you’re doing and watch her speech now. She calls the drag ban out for exactly what it is.

“If you vote yes on this bill and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,” Zephyr told her colleagues on April 18. Gov. Greg Gianforte (R) signed the bill into law on Friday.

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Following Wednesday’s vote, Zephyr released a statement calling the move by Montana Republicans “a disturbing affront to democracy.”

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“In recent months, the legislature has launched a relentless assault on the LGBTQI community, introducing bills that aim to undermine our art forms, our literature, our history, and our healthcare,” she wrote. “As I confronted the ban on gender-affirming care and exposed the grievous harm these bills inflict, I held those responsible to account. Subsequently, Speaker Regier denied me the right to be heard on any bill moving forward.”

“Though the Republican supermajority has voted to strip me of my ability to partake in debate, I remain steadfast in my commitment to my community. I will continue to make the difficult moral choices necessary to stand up for the people who entrusted me with their representation,” the statement continued.

Representative Zephyr represents me. Some lawmakers, convinced that they should be in charge of the healthcare decisions of families, have 5 days left to /pass a budget/.

Why? Because exploiting anxiety and driving wedges between Montanans is the only way they know how to win. https://t.co/6EeXH1Drl9

— Hank Green (@hankgreen) April 28, 2023

Though she will still be allowed to cast votes remotely until the current legislative session ends on May 5, when Zephyr showed up to work from the hallway outside the House chamber last Thursday, she learned that her committee meetings had been canceled.

“Republicans used a series of procedures to remove every bill from my committees, silencing my constituents beyond what they already voted to do,” Zephyr wrote in tweet on Friday. “My constituents elected me to speak on their behalf—in committee & on the floor—and stopping me from doing so is anti-democratic.”

My statement on the Montana GOP's undemocratic decision to ban me from debate on the House floor:

Today I stood unwaveringly in defense of my constituents, my community, and democracy itself. And I pledge to always do so. pic.twitter.com/mCuN9ah0JL

— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold) April 26, 2023

In response, Queer Joy Missoula organized a march and rally to protest the disciplinary action against Zephyr. On Friday, around 1,000 supporters in the lawmaker’s district marched from Missoula’s Rose Park to Caras Park, chanting “Let her speak” and carrying signs that read “Stand with Zooey,” “Protect trans kids,” and “smash the cis-tem.” Missoula Mayor Jordan Hess and several city council members joined the crowd, according to the Star Observer, and Zephyr was on hand to thank her constituents for their support.

stunning photos starting to emerge of missoulians coming out in droves yesterday evening to welcome home silenced rep. zooey zephyr.

a tremendous display of resilience and solidarity from a community that has endured an onslaught of anti trans legislation this session pic.twitter.com/K7VYeSMnJ2

— paul kim 김석인 (@paulsgkim) April 29, 2023

the revolution has started in missoula, montana ❤️‍