Censured transgender lawmaker: ‘There are many more eyes on Montana now’

Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) said the move by state House Republicans to censure her earlier this week has brought “many more eyes” on the state, vowing to stand up in “defense” of her community.

Zephyr, one of the state’s first openly transgender lawmakers, was barred from the House floor for the rest of the legislative session after all House Republicans voted to censure her. The vote came after she claimed her colleagues who voted for a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors would have “blood on your hands.”

“There are many more eyes on Montana now,” Zephyr said in an interview with The Associated Press. “But you do the same thing you’ve always done. You stand up in defense of your community and you … stand for the principles that they elected you to stand for.”

The move to restrict Zephyr’s voice in Montana made national headlines. All 68 House Republicans in the state voted to censure Zephyr, while all 32 Democrats voted against it. While being banned from the House floor and gallery, Zephyr has the option to participate remotely, but only for votes.

Following Zephyr’s remarks about the bill to ban gender-affirming care, a group of at least 21 state Republicans called for her to be censured, arguing she attempted to “shame the Montana legislative body.”

But in the aftermath of her censure, Zephyr said she has been encouraged by the response of voters who have indicated they do not support the move.

“It’s queer people across the world and it’s also the constituents of other representatives who are saying, ‘They won’t listen,’ when it comes to these issues,” Zephyr said. “It’s staff in this building who, when no one is looking, come up and say, ‘Thank you.’”