Transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr awaits her fate of censure or expulsion

Montana Representative Zooey Zephyr, who sparked a wave of support after she was silenced by Republican lawmakers for criticizing an anti-LGBTQ+ bill, says she is likely to either be censured or expelled.

The Democrat hasn’t been allowed to speak or engage in debate on the House floor since Thursday, after Republican House Speaker Matt Regier said her comments about a bill aiming to ban gender-affirming care for minors was a breach of decorum.

Lawmakers will decide Zephyr’s fate during a House session at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The gallery will be closed, in response to seven people getting arrested Monday at the statehouse during a rally in support of Zephyr, the first transgender woman to be elected to the Montana state legislature.

“I have been informed that during tomorrow’s floor session there will be a motion to either censure or expel me,” tweeted Zephyr, adding that she’ll stand tall in the name of democracy, as always.

During debate on the bill, she argued that by denying the care and forcing a trans child to go through puberty would be “tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed.” She concluded her remarks with: “If you vote yes on this bill, I hope the next time you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”

When conservatives deemed her words as “hateful rhetoric,” Regier announced Zephyr will not be allowed to speak on the House floor until she apologizes, something she has refused to do.

Zephyr was also deliberately misgendered by the conservative Montana Freedom Caucus, which pushed for her censure and referred to Zephyr as a male in a tweet.

House session was canceled on Tuesday to allow lawmakers time in deciding Zephyr’s future.

Regier said accusations that the state GOP has silenced anyone are false, adding that all representatives are “free to participate” in House debate if they follow the rules, something he says Zephyr has chosen not to do.

“The only person silencing Representative Zephyr is Representative Zephyr,” Regier said during a brief news conference on Tuesday at the statehouse. “Montana House will not be bullied. All 100 representatives will continue to be treated the same.”

Newsweek has reached out to Zephyr and Regier for comment.

Zephyr has received an outpouring of support—from the protests Monday to a petition that garnered more than 3,000 signatures urging Regier to let the Missoula Democrat speak.

“They are not only eroding democracy, they are signaling the death knell for the GOP in Montana for a generation, or several,” one person tweeted in response to Zephyr’s post.

Others on Twitter agreed with Republicans, saying that Zephyr needed to face punishment for her actions on the House floor.

Montana is among more than two dozen states trying to limit access to transgender health care for children as part of a conservative crackdown that includes restrictions on LGBTQ+ events by banning “drag story hours” at public libraries and drag shows.