Who is Zooey Zephyr: the transgender state rep banned from doing her job

Transgender politics in the United States have become one of the most divisive issues in American political life and there is no better example than the case of Zooey Zephyr. 

Photo by Facebook @ZooeyZephyr4MT

Zephyr became Montana's first openly transgendered state representative when she was elected to serve Missoula’s 100th District in the state’s November 2022 election. 

Sworn in on January 2nd, Zephyr quickly came to blows with the Republican-dominated statehouse over issues involving transgenderism, but things didn’t boil over until April. 

Photo by Twitter @ZoAndBehold

Montana lawmakers had been working on a bill seeking to limit or ban gender-affirming medical care for the state’s transgendered youth according to Time’s Sanya Mansoor. 

Zephyr opposed the bill and stood up to her Republican colleagues on the legislature floor during the final vote on a set of amendments made to the legislation by the state’s governor, and the interaction would rocket the Democratic rep to the national stage. 

"If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans,” Zephyr said to her colleagues, “that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed.”

Photo by Twitter @ErinInTheMorn

This sparked outrage from Montana’s Republican majority leader Sue Vinton who said that she stood on behalf of her caucus and they wouldn’t be shamed in the chamber, according to the Montana Free Press.

Photo by Twitter @MTHouseGOP

“The only thing I will say is if you vote ‘yes’ on this bill and ‘yes’ on these amendments, I hope the next time there’s an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,” Zephyr responded. 

Photo by Twitter @MTFreedomCaucus

Despite her pushback, Montana’s House adopted the amendments made to the bill and voted to ban gender-affirming care 66-34, but Zephyr’s colleagues weren’t done just yet. 

After the vote, a group of Republican lawmakers connected to the Montana Freedom Caucus called for the immediate censure of Representative Zephyr for her comments on the floor and missed gendered her in their request according to CNN. 

Photo by Twitter @MTFreedomCaucus

“Our Caucus is calling for the immediate censure of transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr after his threatening and deeply concerning comments,” the Freedom Caucus tweeted. 

Photo by Twitter @MTFreedomCaucus

Zephyr was later censured for her comments and the state’s Republican supermajority silenced her in the House until she apologized for what she said on the statehouse floor according to Reuters. 

Photo by Twitter @ZoAndBehold

The silencing of Zephyr prompted a major protest at the statehouse that saw dozens of supporters disrupt a session of the House chanting, “Let her speak,” Reuters added. 

When the House speaker ordered representatives to leave the floor, Zephyr stayed and pointed her microphone in the air in an act of defiance that would later get her banned from the House floor according to a separate Reuters report. 

Photo by Twitter @jeremycarl4

Zephyr challenged her ban in court but her request to have it overturned was rejected based on the belief that it would require the court to “interfere with legislative authority” in a way that exceeded the court’s authority according to the judge's statement. 

“It’s a really sad day for the country when the majority party can silence representation from the minority party whenever they take issue,” Zephyr later told the Associated Press (AP) 

Photo by Twitter @ZoAndBehold

The AP added that Montana’s current legislative session ends on May 11th and because the state’s legislature only convenes every two years, Zephyr would need to be reelected in 2024 before she could return to the statehouse when it meets again. 

Photo by Twitter @MTHouseGOP

“When the speaker refused to recognize me, he took away not only my right as a legislator to partake in speech and debate on the floor, but also the voice of the people who elected me,” Zephyr said in a May 2nd interview with Time Magazine. 

Photo by Twitter @RepMattRegier

“And that is an attack on the very first principles of our country. That is an attack on democracy,” Zephyr added in a clear condemnation of her ban from the statehouse. 

While Zephyr is not allowed to enter the statehouse or participate in debates, she is still allowed to participate in the legislative process and can vote remotely, CBS News noted. 

Photo by Twitter @ZoAndBehold

However, voting without being allowed to challenge the established order is still a grave injustice, and one that is likely to be overlooked as long as Montana’s state house continues to be dominated by a Republican supermajority.