Montana transgender lawmaker’s attempt to reverse ejection from House floor rejected.

Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a bisexual trans woman, will continue to cast votes remotely for the remainder of the legislative session after being censured by the GOP-led House. District Court Judge Mike Menahan denied Zephyr’s bid to return to the House floor, citing the separation of powers between the judicial and legislative branches.

Disciplinary Action

Lawmakers voted 68-32 to ban Zephyr from voting on the House floor after breaking decorum during a debate over a bill banning transgender medical procedures for minors. Zephyr told fellow lawmakers, “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’s remarks were condemned by the Montana Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative lawmakers, who called Zephyr’s remarks “hateful rhetoric” and demanded an apology. Zephyr refused to apologize and was initially censured before being removed days later after a protest broke out in the House gallery among the lawmakers’ supporters, some of whom were reportedly arrested.

Legal Ruling

Judge Menahan’s ruling means that Zephyr, 34, will remain barred from the House floor and gallery for the rest of the legislative session, which ends later this week. The Montana Constitution grants each house of the Montana legislature the authority to “expel or punish a member for good cause.” The judge noted that “Because the constitution explicitly reserves this power for the Legislature, the Court’s powers are conversely limited.”

Real Consequences

Zephyr later clarified that the lawmaker was referring to the “real consequences” the House votes could have on the LGBT community. Speaking to House lawmakers ahead of the disciplinary vote, Zephyr said: “When I rose up and said ‘there is blood on your hands,’ I was not being hyperbolic. I was speaking to the real consequences of the votes that we, as legislators, take in this body. And when the speaker asks me to apologize on behalf of decorum, what he is really asking me to do is be silent when my community is facing bills that get us killed.”

Conclusion

Despite the ruling, Zephyr will continue voting on various bills remotely. Republican lawmakers argued that protests had put their safety at risk. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, has not commented on the situation.