HELENA, MONT. -- The latest high-profile example of statehouses deciding who can be heard during legislative debates is playing out in Montana, where a transgender lawmaker has for days been silenced by Republican leaders, despite efforts to speak on various proposals.
Leaders in the GOP-controlled state Legislature on Monday continued denying Rep. Zooey Zephyr the chance to speak during proceedings on Monday, even after protesters chanted "Let Her Speak!" and forced them to adjourn temporarily. The lawmakers are demanding she apologize for telling colleagues they would have "blood on their hands" if they voted for a bill banning gender-affirming care. Zephyr doubled down on her stand in a speech to supporters gathered on the statehouse steps and vowed not to change course.
Montana is among a wave of states passing legislation that opponents say could exacerbate the suffering of transgender teens, who are disproportionately plagued by bullying, depression and high suicide rates.
The measure has passed and is in the hands of Gov. Greg Gianforte, who has indicated he will sign it.
Here's what you need to know:
WHO IS THE TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER AT THE CENTER OF THIS?
Last year, Zephyr became the first openly transgender woman elected to the Montana Legislature -- putting her among a record number of transgender lawmakers who began serving across the U.S.
The 34-year-old Democrat is from the left-leaning college town Missoula, where she's been a staffer at the University of Montana. She has spent much of her life advocating for LGBTQ+ rights and worked behind the scenes during the 2021 legislative session to help block efforts to ban gender-affirming health care.
Following her November election, she said she wanted to enlist moderate Republicans to push back on what she called "extreme and dangerous attacks" and help people understand transgender adults like her.
Instead, she and fellow members of the Democratic minority have been powerless to stop Republicans from passing proposals focused on transgender kids. In addition to legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, lawmakers also passed legislation that says misgendering or deadnaming students is not illegal discrimination unless it rises to the level of bullying.
Deadnaming refers to using the name a transgender person used prior to transitioning.
She has been unfazed by calls from Republican leaders and legislative staffers to apologize, scale back her remarks or calm protesters. In a speech on Monday, Zephyr likened gender-affirming care bans like the one that passed in Montana to "eradication," echoing fears raised throughout the transgender community that stripping transgender youth of access to care endangers their lives and mental health, and attempts to force people and their doctors to maintain their gender assigned at birth.
WHAT STARTED THIS DISPUTE?
On April 18, as the House debated the governor's proposed amendments to a measure banning gender-affirming care for minors, Zephyr spoke against the bill while making a reference to the body's opening prayer.
"I hope the next time there's an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands," she said.
House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, a Republican, immediately called Zephyr's comments inappropriate and disrespectful. That evening, a group of conservative lawmakers known as the Montana Freedom Caucus demanded Zephyr's censure and deliberately referred to her using male pronouns in a letter and Tweet. That's known as misgendering -- using pronouns that don't match a person's gender identity.
Zephyr previously upset legislative leaders with emotional testimony earlier this session.
She made a similar "blood on your hands" comment the first time the House heard the bill and has also given emotional testimony indicating bills that attack LGBTQ+ rights will lead to suicide.
"When there are bills targeting the LGBTQ community, I stand up to defend my community," Zephyr told The Associated Press after she was silenced Thursday. "And I choose my words with clarity and precision, and I spoke to the real harms that these bills bring."
WHO IS LEADING THE CHARGE TO SILENCE HER?
Though Montana has long leaned Republican, for years voters crossed party lines and elected Democrats to the U.S. Senate and governor's mansion. But the state has recently shifted rightward. Republicans now command control of state government, which they've used to push legislation restricting abortion and loosening gun laws.
One reflection of such a shift is the newly influential Montana Freedom Caucus -- a group founded in January that includes at least 21 of the Legislature's 102 GOP lawmakers.
Its ideological leader is U.S. Rep Matt Rosendale, a hardline conservative who backed former President Donald Trump's false statements about fraud in the 2020 election and was among a core group of Republicans who opposed electing U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.
Efforts to punish Zephyr originated in the Freedom Caucus, whose members said Zephyr's comments displayed a "hateful rhetoric" and called for a "commitment to civil discourse" -- similar to criticisms leveled against Democrats who were expelled from the Tennessee statehouse for joining in gun control demonstrations.
Two days after the caucus' letter, Speaker Matt Regier refused to allow Zephyr to speak against a bill that would put a binary definition of male and female into state code. She was blocked from speaking for a second day Friday during discussion of a bill to prevent minors from seeing pornography online.
Regier said he silenced Zephyr after discussions with other lawmakers. Democrats objected, but the decision was upheld by Republican lawmakers on party-line votes both days.
WHO IS THE HOUSE SPEAKER ENFORCING THE GAG ORDER?
Zephyr's punishment has thrust leaders in Montana's Republican-majority Legislature into the spotlight, including Regier, who was elected House Speaker in January.
Throughout his tenure, Regier, a real estate investor from a northwestern Montana political family, has spearheaded legislation to restrict local governments from enacting gun control measures. He also has sought to tighten restrictions on abortion, including pushing a 2022 ballot initiative that, if passed, could have subjected providers to criminal charges.
Regier's bill to ban the type of abortion most commonly used after 15 weeks of gestation has passed the Legislature this year. Gianforte hasn't acted on the bill.
Kalispell, where Regier is from and represents, is the largest city in Montana's deeply Republican Flathead County. Former U.S. President Donald Trump received 64 per cent of the vote in the county in 2020. County commissioners there opposed mask requirements to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and library directors and staff have resigned over efforts to ban books about gender identity, sexuality and race.
The region is known for agriculture and as a tourist gateway to Glacier National Park.
Regier's father, state Sen. Keith Regier, has served in the Legislature since 2009 and is chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. His sister, Rep. Amy Regier, is in her second session and is chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
SO, HAS ZEPHYR BEEN CENSURED?
Formally, no, but practically, yes.
A censure in the Montana Legislature is a public reprimand. The House did not go through that process. However, Regier used his authority under House rules to decide questions of order, privilege and recognition.
IS THIS RELATED TO THE TENNESSEE LAWMAKERS BEING EXPELLED?
Not directly, but the dispute reflects tensions and harsh rhetoric around culturally divisive issues -- including firearms, racial justice and rights for the LGBTQ+ community -- that currently dominate much of America's political discourse.
The Tennessee expulsions stemmed from a dispute over gun control. It drew accusations of racism after Republicans removed two Black lawmakers following their participation in a protest but retained a third lawmaker involved who was white.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Regier is expected this week to stick to his stance that Zephyr can't speak on the floor until she apologizes. Zephyr has said she stands by her statements. It remains unknown if conservatives and the Montana Freedom Caucus will keep pushing for formal censure. The Montana Legislature is scheduled to end in early May.
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AP writer Matt Brown in Billings contributed to this report. Metz reported from Salt Lake City.
