Montana state legislator Zooey Zephyr is suing the state, House Speaker Matt Regier, and Sergeant at Arms Bradley Murfitt after being censured by House Republicans for her calls to vote against a gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth on bill SB99. Zephyr’s lawsuit, backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, seeks the reinstatement of her legislative privileges and duties.
The censure vote led to Zephyr being ignored for days by Republican leaders on the House floor in April. House Republicans then voted to censure her, barring her from participating in the legislature from the House floor. Since then, Zephyr has participated remotely in the legislature from the public seating of the state Capitol building.
Zephyr argues that the recent actions violate her 1st Amendment rights, as well as the rights of her 11,000 constituents to representation. She tweeted, “Montana’s State House is the people’s House, not Speaker Regier’s, and I’m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.”
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen’s office, which says it will represent the state against the lawsuit, denounced the effort as “political activism masquerading as a lawsuit.” Emily Flower, Knudsen’s press secretary, said, “Any relief granted by the court would be a gross violation of the separation of powers.”
Zephyr’s calls to vote against the gender-affirming care ban for transgender youth on bill SB99 highlighted the ongoing debate on gender-affirming care being targeted in the US. Some legislators, including Regier, argued she had broken House rules of decorum when she said legislators would have “blood on your hands” if they passed the ban. Demonstrators in support of the transgender lawmaker interrupted House business several days later to protest Zephyr being silenced.
Zephyr’s lawsuit highlights the ongoing fight for transgender rights and representation in Montana’s state legislature. While the state’s Attorney General denounces the lawsuit as political activism, Zephyr and her supporters argue that her censure violates the 1st Amendment and the right to representation for her constituents.