On Friday, the Republican governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, signed a bill prohibiting gender transition treatments for juveniles.
After state House Republicans approved Senate Bill 99 earlier in the week, it became law. The governor’s signature also follows controversy surrounding the opposition of a transgender state legislator to the bill.
House Republicans censured Democrat Rep. Zooey Zephyr on Wednesday in response to testimony she gave on April 18, alleging that GOP legislators who support the measure would have blood on their hands.
Zephyr stated at the time, “The only thing I will say is that if you vote yes on this bill and these amendments, I hope the next time there is an invocation and you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.”
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The law prohibits the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgery on minors. Similar legislation has been proposed in other Republican-led jurisdictions across the nation.
Zephyr also claimed that denying youth gender transition medical care was “akin to torture” and that a prohibition would lead to an increase in transgender child suicides.
The censure, which was approved by a vote of 68 to 32, prohibits Zephyr from speaking on the House floor for the remainder of the legislative session, which concludes on May 10. The representative will still be permitted to vote remotely.
During his April 18 testimony, Republican legislators accused Zephyr of presenting “hate-filled testimony.” They responded initially to Zephyr’s floor remarks by shutting off her microphone. Later, Republican Speaker Matt Regier denied Zephyr’s request to remark on a separate bill that would have added a binary definition of male and female to the state code.
During a speech given prior to the vote on censure, Zephyr claimed to be defending “democracy itself.”
“If you use decorum to silence those who hold you accountable, then you are using decorum as a tool of oppression,” said Zephyr.
This week, protesters gathered in the Montana Statehouse gallery to demand Zephyr’s right to communicate. On Monday, seven arrests were made in relation to the protest. According to Zephyr, those detained were “defending democracy.”
Montana’s U.S. senator, Jon Tester, described the censure as “extreme” and “undemocratic.”
“I served in the Montana legislature for many years, working with everyone to get things done for Montana,” he wrote in a Friday tweet. “Let’s be clear: banning a duly-elected representative is an extreme, undemocratic step that harms the thousands of Montanans who no longer have a voice in their government.”
