Zephyr Sues Montana GOP House Speaker Over 'Terrifying Affront to Democracy'

The ACLU of Montana and legal partners on Monday filed a lawsuit on behalf of state Rep. Zooey Zephyr and her constituents, challenging Republicans' censure of the legislator, who called out her GOP colleagues for their new ban on lifesaving gender-affirming healthcare for youth.

"This is an action for emergency declaratory and injunctive relief against defendants arising out of their unconstitutional censure and retaliatory silencing of Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a member of the Montana House of Representatives who engaged in constitutionally protected speech," says the complaint, filed in state court against House Speaker Matt Regier (R-4) and Bradley Murfitt, the chamber's sergeant at arms.

"House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself."

"As a result of the censure, Rep. Zephyr—elected to represent 11,000 constituents in House District 100—is physically barred from entering the Montana State Capitol and cannot engage in speech and debate on important matters of public concern," the complaint continues, arguing that the move deprives her "constituents of the right to full representation in their government."

Zephyr, Montana's only transgender legislator, said in a statement Monday that "this effort by House leadership to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself."

"House leadership explicitly and directly targeted me and my district because I dared to give voice to the values and needs of transgender people like myself," she declared. "By doing so, they've denied me my own rights under the Constitution and, more importantly, the rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government. The Montana 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."

While Republicans who voted to censure Zephyr last week claimed it was in response to a protest by her supporters in the House gallery that they accused her of encouraging, Regier refused to recognize Zephyr on the chamber's floor after she told legislators they would have "blood on their hands" if they backed Senate Bill 99, the ban on gender-affirming care for minors that GOP Gov. Greg Gianforte signed into law on Friday.

Echoing Zephyr's warning to state lawmakers last month, Anna Wong, a resident of Montana House District 100 and a named party in the suit, stressed that "suicide amongst transgender youth is not imaginary."

"It is not a game and it is not a political foil. It is real. It is heartbreaking. And it is the responsibility of my representative to speak out against bills promoting it," Wong continued. "I expected Rep. Zephyr to oppose, and her comments leading to expulsion from the House floor, which I have listened to, seem incredibly measured and muted compared to the severity of the situation."

Dean Chou, a fellow district resident and party to the suit, said that "I feel alienated and disenfranchised to have my representative expelled from debate."

"Rep. Zephyr is my representative on all issues—not just those that directly impact or target transgender Montanans," added Chou. "I believe Rep. Zephyr has done an effective job advocating for my interests and my rights on all issues, and I want Rep. Zephyr to continue to do so."

Since Zephyr was barred from entering the chamber last week, multiple study bills awaiting votes in committees on which she sits were sent to another panel or the House floor, and legislators are set to debate amendments to the state budget this week.

"Rep. Zephyr was elected by the people of her district after running on the very principles she is now being punished for defending," said ACLU of Montana legal director Alex Rate. "In his craven pursuit to deny transgender youth and their families the healthcare they need, Speaker Regier has unfairly, unjustly, and unconstitutionally silenced those voters by silencing their representative."

"His actions are a direct threat to the bedrock principles that uphold our entire democracy, and we welcome the privilege of defending the people of Montana's 100th House District from this desperate and autocratic effort to silence them," Rate added.

The ACLU of Montana, the national ACLU, and Lambda Legal have also promised to take legal action against S.B. 99, saying in a joint statement earlier this year that "Montana lawmakers seem hellbent on joining the growing roster of states determined to jeopardize the health and lives of transgender youth, in direct opposition to the overwhelming body of scientific and medical evidence supporting this care as appropriate and necessary."