Montana Transgender Lawmaker Censured

(Helena, MT) — Montana’s first openly transgender lawmaker will be banned from the state’s House floor for the rest of the legislative session. House Republicans voted yesterday to censure Missoula Democrat Zooey Zephyr. She upset a number of Republican House and Senate lawmakers after she said those who voted to ban gender-affirming care for minors would have “blood on your hands.” Several people were arrested earlier this week following protests at the state capital after the Montana Freedom Caucus called for Zephyr’s censure. Zephyr defended her words yesterday, saying she was “speaking of the real consequences of the votes” legislators make on the floor.