Montana lawmaker silenced but not silent, vows to fight on

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Rep. Zooey Zéphyr (D-Missoula) walks out of Montana House of Representatives on Wednesday, April 26th, 2023 after lawmakers voted her ban from the chamber in Helena. Zephyr, a Democratic representative from Missoula, was banned from the House floor after Republican leaders voted to silence her during the 2023 session. She had protested GOP leadership's decision to silence her earlier in the week. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP)

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Rep. Zooey Zeffir embraces a supporter on the Montana State Capitol steps in Helena, Mont. Wednesday, April 26 2023. Zephyr was banned from the Montana House of Representatives for the remainder of the 2023 session by Republicans after she rebuked her colleagues and participated in protests following their vote to ban gender affirming child care.

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Rep. Zooey Zeffir poses for a picture at the Montana State Capitol, Helena, Mont. on Wednesday, April 26th, 2023. Zephyr was banned from the Montana House of Representatives for the remainder of the 2023 session by Republicans after she rebuked her colleagues and participated in protests following their vote to ban gender affirming care for children.

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FILE – State Rep. Zooey Zéphyr, DMissoula stands alone in protest on the floor of the Montana State Capitol, Helena, Mont., Monday, 24 April 2023. Demonstrators are arrested from the gallery. Montana Republican leaders will vote on Wednesday, April 26 2023, whether to censure or expel Zephyr. She is a transgender representative of the state who has been silent on the Montana State House floor for the past week, after telling her colleagues that they would'see blood on their hands' if they voted to ban gender affirming medical care. (Thom Bridge/Independent Record via AP, File)

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On Tuesday, April 25th, 2023, a sign expressing support for the LGBTQ Community was seen in Missoula. Zooey Zéphyr was sent to the Montana state legislature by Missoula, where pride flags were a common site. Zephyr was the first transgender lawmaker in Montana history to be barred from speaking at the state legislature last week by the Republican majority.

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Speaker of the House Matt Regier watches during a Montana House of Representatives session at the Montana State Capitol, Helena, Mont. on April 26, 2023.

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HELENA, Mont.

Zephyr told The Associated Press that there are now many more eyes watching Montana. "But you continue to do what you have always done." You defend your community, and you... stand up for the principles they elected you to represent.

Zephyr came into the spotlight when she was barred from speaking at the House last week after saying that lawmakers who supported a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors would have blood on them. Her refusal to apologize and the Republican response have made her a prominent voice in the national battle for transgender equality.

Zephyr is experiencing a brand new phenomenon. She was elected in November to represent a college town in western Montana, and she has never experienced anything like it before. She will be spending her first day as a legislative exile on Thursday, when the Montana House reconvenes. A day earlier, the Republican majority had voted to ban her from the House Floor for the remainder of the session.

The lawmakers' move was a retaliation to her involvement in a Monday protest that disrupted the floor session. Protesters upset that she wasn't allowed to take part in House discussions after making her remarks packed the gallery, chanting 'Let Her Speak!'

She refused to apologize for her remarks, even though House Speaker Matt Regier had said that they were in violation of decorum rules.

Regier stated this week that "the Montana House will never be bullied." He claimed that Zephyr was the only one who prevented her from speaking.

Zephyr compared the efforts to silence her in her interview with AP to Tennessee lawmakers' decision to expel her and two other Black representatives from the state for disrupting proceedings after they took part in a gun-control protest in Nashville, which resulted in the deaths of three children and three adult victims. Both were immediately reinstated.

She said: 'That is exactly what I am talking about. When young Black men say, 'We have gun violence in this country,' you fail to acknowledge it and take action.

Tennessee lawmakers rejected gun control legislation, and by ejecting the lawmakers sent a clear message: "Your voices shouldn't even be here." Zephyr told Zephyr, 'We're going send you away.

The GOP leaders in Tennessee said that their actions were needed to avoid setting up a precedent whereby disruptions by lawmakers of House proceedings would be tolerated.

Zephyr has attracted the attention of lawmakers across the country. Justin Pearson, a Tennessee representative who was expelled from the legislature earlier this month, described the Montana standoff as anti-democratic on Tuesday.

We are in this fight from Memphis to Montana! From Memphis to Montana, we are fighting this battle! He tweeted.

Megan Hunt, a Nebraska State Senator, said: "The attack on Rep. Zephyr in Montana is an attack against us all."

Hunt, whose son is transgender, led the charge against an identical proposal to ban gender affirming care. She received notice on Wednesday that an official complaint was filed against her, which she claimed was an attempt to silence her voice.

It's important to not remain silent on this issue from one state to another. Hunt stated that it was important for people to stand up and tell this radical, rising movement they were not welcome.

Zephyr will not be deterred. She stated that she had aimed both to rise to the occasion and to continue to do the job for which she was elected: represent her community and constituencies.

When it comes to this issue, it is queer people around the world as well as the constituents of the other representatives that say "They won't Listen". She said that it's the staff of this building, who come up to her when no one's looking and thank her.

Metz reported in Salt Lake City. Margery Beck, an Associated Press reporter in Omaha, Nebraska contributed to this report.