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greg gianforte
Zephyr Sues Montana GOP House Speaker Over 'Terrifying Affront to Democracy'
The Democratic lawmaker says her censure by Republicans violates the "rights of my constituents to just representation in their own government."
May 01, 2023
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."
\u201cI'm suing.\n\nThe recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to representation.\n\nMontana's State House is the people\u2019s House, not Speaker Regier\u2019s, and I\u2019m determined to defend the right of the people to have their voices heard.\u201d— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@Rep. Zooey Zephyr) 1682953191
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."
\u201cThursday, Republicans moved several bills out of my committees, preventing me from representing my constituents not only on the floor, but in committee.\n\nThe (D) vice-chair of Judiciary called out their actions.\n\nThe next day, Republicans scheduled new hearings in my committees.\u201d— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@Rep. Zooey Zephyr) 1682947183
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."
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Ignoring Plea From Own Son, Montana Gov. Signs Gender-Affirming Care Ban
David Gianforte said this week that his father, Gov. Greg Gianforte, is "concerned about his career" and is "aware that being able to stay in the position of governor is dependent on him staying in favor of the Republican Party."
Apr 29, 2023
Weeks after Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's son called on him to veto a bill to ban gender-affirming healthcare for minors, the governor signed the legislation into law Friday, making Montana the 11th state in the past three months to enact full or partial bans on transition surgery, hormonal treatment, and puberty blockers for youths.
Gianforte's son, David, is nonbinary and uses he and they pronouns. He appealed to his father in a meeting in March as the bill was moving through the Republican-controlled legislature, telling him the ban "would significantly directly affect a number of my friends."
"I would like to make the argument that these bills are immoral, unjust, and frankly a violation of human rights," David said.
Despite the meeting, the governor signed Senate Bill 99 into law on Friday.
David told The Montana Free Press on Wednesday that his father is "concerned about his career" and is "aware that being able to stay in the position of governor is dependent on him staying in favor of the Republican Party."
The law has been at the center of state House Republicans' silencing of Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D-100) in recent days. Speaker Matt Regier (R-4) refused to recognize her on the House floor after Zephyr, the state's first transgender lawmaker, told Republicans they would have "blood on their hands" if they backed S.B. 99. Earlier this week, the GOP majority voted to bar Zephyr from the House floor until the end of the legislative session.
Zephyr was greeted with cheers from her constituents and supporters in Missoula on Friday evening as transgender and nonbinary Montanans and their allies rallied against the gender-affirming care ban and other anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
\u201cyeah you could say missoula is pretty amped to have our representative, THE zooey zephyr, back home. silenced no more\u2014shrouded in love from her hometown and her district\u201d— paul kim \uae40\uc11d\uc778 (@paul kim \uae40\uc11d\uc778) 1682734021
"It's clear that anti-trans policies do not align with Montana's values," Zephyr told The New York Times Friday. "We are a state that cares for its community. There are trans people through every community in this state."
The ACLU of Montana has said it will file a legal challenge against the gender-affirming healthcare ban.
Access to transition care has been linked to a sharp decrease in the rate of suicidal ideation and depression among transgender youths, and is strongly supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as other health associations.
Gianforte also signed a bill this week that will make it harder for public school students to be disciplined for misgendering nonbinary or transgender classmates.
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