An elected transgender Democrat from Montana is no longer allowed to speak in the parliament of this state in the northern United States, after being censured by the Republican majority for her opposition to a law banning sex reassignment treatments for minors .
This controversy is one of the last episodes of the violent cultural battle between the two major American parties. In early April, the exclusion of two elected African-American Democrats from the Tennessee parliament, for having demonstrated against gun violence, had prompted President Joe Biden to step up to obtain their reinstatement.
Since Thursday, Zooey Zephyr, the only transgender parliamentarian in Montana, no longer has the right to intervene in the local parliament. The conservative majority in the House criticizes him for remarks deemed inappropriate.
Earlier in the week, Zooey Zephyr said his colleagues should “be ashamed” of passing a law banning transgender minors from being given hormone treatments to help them transition.
“The next time […] you bow your head to pray, I hope you see the blood on your hands”, had launched the elected address of the Republicans who adopted this text. She believes that such laws push transgender people to commit suicide.
In a statement released Thursday evening, she explained that Parliament “refuses to allow [her] to speak on any bill until the end of the legislative session” unless she agrees. ‘excuse.
The elected official denounces a “fundamentally undemocratic decision” by these Republicans, intended to guarantee “silence as they suppress the rights of transgender and homosexual residents of Montana”.
The Republican Party of Montana is refusing to allow me—a transgender Representative—to speak on any bill. This is fundamentally undemocratic. My light is on, and I am ready to speak on behalf of the constituents who elected me to do so. pic.twitter.com/pdijLUQsCc
As early as Tuesday, a group of 21 Republicans had signed a letter calling for “censorship” of Zooey Zephyr. In it, they refer to her using a masculine pronoun.
“I don’t censor anyone,” conservative local parliament speaker Matt Regier said in an interview with MTN News on Friday. According to him, the rules of the House allow to withdraw the floor from an elected official who does not respect the protocol.
“Any representative who wishes to debate in accordance with the decorum, integrity and dignity of the House […] will be recognized” as legitimate to speak, he added.
Since January, 29 new laws restricting the rights of transgender people have been passed in 14 US states, according to an analysis of data from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published this week by The Washington Post.
