On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana filed a lawsuit challenging the Republican-led state legislature’s censuring of state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, calling the decision “unconstitutional” and “retaliatory silencing” of the Missoula lawmaker. This move comes less than a week after Montana Republicans voted to censure Democratic state Rep. Zooey Zephyr from speaking and effectively representing the people who voted to elect her. Republicans, ever the cowards, even banned Zephyr from attending legislative sessions in person.
The lawsuit focuses on Montana legislators’ bigotry against its first openly transgender woman. Zephyr also released a statement calling the move by Montana Republicans a “terrifying affront to democracy itself, adding “House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself. By doing so, they’ve denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government.”
RELATED STORY: Montana Republicans tried to silence trans lawmaker. They failed
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Zephyr’s censure arose out of her statements against transphobic legislation banning “gender-affirming care for transgender children,” along with another bill that would allow misgendering students to remain a non-discriminatory act. Apparently Zephyr’s assertion that lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they voted for the legislation gave Republicans the vapors.
Zephyr has refused to apologize for her statements, saying, “When there are bills targeting the LGBTQ community, I stand up to defend my community, and I choose my words with clarity and precision, and I spoke to the real harms that these bills bring.” Zephyr and others pointed out that many studies have shown suicide rates among transgender youth drop significantly when there is acceptance and support from their communities.
The Republican Party’s historic targeting of marginalized groups is nothing new. What we are seeing across the country is the same religious homophobia we saw when the political will to codify same-sex marriage was on the table. The attack on transgender people is the same, with the same arguments and hand-wringing about children. Of course, as was true during the fight for marriage equality, the real sexual predators that need to be watched out for are too often conservatives in power, like Republican donor Anton Lazzaro, and disgraced former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
As with the conservative obsession with children and sex, the move by Republicans in state legislatures to use authoritarian maneuvers in silencing political opposition shows how strong the projection is with this crowd.
Can we have fairer, more representative elections in the U.S.? Absolutely, says Deb Otis on this week's episode of "The Downballot." Otis, the director of research at FairVote, tells us about her organization's efforts to advocate for two major reforms—ranked-choice voting and proportional representation—and the prospects for both. RCV, which is growing in popularity, not only helps ensure candidates win with majorities but can lower the temperature by encouraging cross-endorsements. PR, meanwhile, would give voters a stronger voice, especially when they're a minority in a dark red or dark blue area.
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Disgraced Republican Speaker Hastert cuts settlement deal with one of the men he abused as a child
Actual groomer: Republican donor convicted of sex trafficking teenagers
The lawsuit focuses on Montana legislators’ bigotry against its first openly transgender woman. Zephyr also released a statement calling the move by Montana Republicans a “terrifying affront to democracy itself, adding “House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself. By doing so, they’ve denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government.”
RELATED STORY: Montana Republicans tried to silence trans lawmaker. They failed
Campaign Action
Zephyr’s censure arose out of her statements against transphobic legislation banning “gender-affirming care for transgender children,” along with another bill that would allow misgendering students to remain a non-discriminatory act. Apparently Zephyr’s assertion that lawmakers would have “blood on their hands” if they voted for the legislation gave Republicans the vapors.
Zephyr has refused to apologize for her statements, saying, “When there are bills targeting the LGBTQ community, I stand up to defend my community, and I choose my words with clarity and precision, and I spoke to the real harms that these bills bring.” Zephyr and others pointed out that many studies have shown suicide rates among transgender youth drop significantly when there is acceptance and support from their communities.
The Republican Party’s historic targeting of marginalized groups is nothing new. What we are seeing across the country is the same religious homophobia we saw when the political will to codify same-sex marriage was on the table. The attack on transgender people is the same, with the same arguments and hand-wringing about children. Of course, as was true during the fight for marriage equality, the real sexual predators that need to be watched out for are too often conservatives in power, like Republican donor Anton Lazzaro, and disgraced former Republican Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.
As with the conservative obsession with children and sex, the move by Republicans in state legislatures to use authoritarian maneuvers in silencing political opposition shows how strong the projection is with this crowd.
Can we have fairer, more representative elections in the U.S.? Absolutely, says Deb Otis on this week's episode of "The Downballot." Otis, the director of research at FairVote, tells us about her organization's efforts to advocate for two major reforms—ranked-choice voting and proportional representation—and the prospects for both. RCV, which is growing in popularity, not only helps ensure candidates win with majorities but can lower the temperature by encouraging cross-endorsements. PR, meanwhile, would give voters a stronger voice, especially when they're a minority in a dark red or dark blue area.
Embedded Content
RELATED STORIES:
Disgraced Republican Speaker Hastert cuts settlement deal with one of the men he abused as a child
Actual groomer: Republican donor convicted of sex trafficking teenagers