State Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) is suing the state of Montana, state House Speaker Matt Reiger (R) and state House Sergeant at Arms Bradley Murfitt regarding her censure.
The House voted last week to censure Zephyr, one of the state’s first openly transgender lawmakers, limiting her participation to voting on bills remotely.
Zephyr’s lawsuit says, “Representatives also are elected to use of the floor of the House to pursue their constituents’ interests and views—using the platform provided by the People’s House to educate and persuade their colleagues and the public through speech, debate, and lobbying.”
The lawsuit says her censure “extinguishes a vital part of the job her constituents elected her to do.”
The censure vote came after Zephyr said representatives who supported a measure banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth would have “blood on your hands” and following a protest at the capitol building after Zephyr was not allowed to participate in debate.
Some House Republicans criticized Zephyr’s language as “hateful” and “uncalled-for” and said she incited a disruption of the legislature’s activities.
The Hill’s Brook Migdon notes Zephyr’s censure “comes just over a month after Republicans in Oklahoma voted to censure Democratic Rep. Mauree Turner, the nation’s first openly nonbinary state legislator, after Turner allowed a protestor at the capitol to use their office following an arrest.”
It also follows the expulsion of two Black legislators from the Tennessee House after a gun violence protest in the chamber. Local officials reappointed them as interim representatives. The lawmakers said they’ll seek reelection in special elections.
