Silenced Transgender State Lawmaker Wins Reelection

Zooey Zephyr will return to state House floor for first time since 2023
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Nov 6, 2024 5:30 AM CST
Silenced Transgender State Lawmaker Wins Reelection
Missoula Rep. Zooey Zephyr, right, and her fiancee Erin Reed, left, wave to supporters during the Missoula Pride Parade, June 17, 2023, in Missoula, Mont.   (Ben Allan Smith/The Missoulian via AP, File)

Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr won reelection in a race that will allow the transgender lawmaker to return to the House floor nearly two years after she was silenced and sanctioned by her Republican colleagues. Zephyr, a Democrat, defeated Republican Barbara Starmer in her Democrat-leaning district in the college town of Missoula, the AP reports. Zephyr, who was in her first term, was last permitted to speak on the chamber floor in April 2023, when she refused to apologize for saying some lawmakers would have blood on their hands for supporting a ban on gender-affirming medical care for youth. Before voting to expel Zephyr from the chamber, Republicans called her words hateful and accused her of inciting a protest that brought the session to a temporary standstill. Some even sought to equate the non-violent demonstration with an insurrection.

Zephyr said in a statement that it was an honor to be reelected. "And I promise to do as I have always done: fight for my constituents, stand up against those who seek to break democracy, and be a bulwark against the rising tide of American fascism," she said. Her exile technically ended when the 2023 session adjourned. The Legislature did not meet in 2024, so she will make her long-awaited return to the House floor in 2025.

(More Zooey Zephyr stories.)

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