By Amy Beth Hanson and Matthew Brown | Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. — The latest high-profile example of state legislative leadership deciding who can be heard during statehouse debates is playing out in Montana where a transgender lawmaker was silenced by Republican leaders for a second day Friday.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who was deliberately referred to using male pronouns by conservative colleagues, says she won’t apologize for telling lawmakers they would have “blood on their hands” if they voted for a bill banning gender-affirming care. The measure has passed and is in the hands of the governor, who has indicated he will sign it.
Montana is among a wave of states passing legislation that opponents say could put transgender teens in jeopardy.
Montana’s House speaker said he won’t let Zephyr speak on the chamber floor until she apologizes.
Here’s what you need to know about the situation:
WHO IS THE TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER AT THE CENTER OF THIS?
Last year, Zephyr became the first openly transgender woman elected to the Montana Legislature — putting her among a record number of transgender lawmakers who began serving across the U.S.The 34-year-old Democrat is from the left-leaning college town Missoula, where she’s been a staffer at the University of Montana. She has spent much of her life advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and worked behind the scenes during the 2021 legislative session to help block efforts to ban gender-affirming health care.
Following her November election, she expressed hope that her presence in the Legislature would help people understand what it means to be a trans adult. Zephyr also wanted to enlist moderate Republicans to push back on what she called “extreme and dangerous attacks.”
Instead, she and fellow members of the Democratic minority have been powerless to stop Republicans from passing bills to ban gender-affirming care for transgender children and another that says misgendering or deadnaming students is not…
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