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In Historic Move, Leading Rights Group Declares 'State of Emergency' for LGBTQ+ People in US
"The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived—they are real, tangible, and dangerous," said Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson.
Jun 06, 2023
For the first time ever, the Human Rights Campaign—the largest LGBTQ+ political advocacy group in the United States—has declared a national state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people, citing the torrent of discriminatory and dangerous legislation emerging from Republican-controlled legislatures across the country.
"I'm not going to sugarcoat this," Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Kelley Robinson said Tuesday in a report—LGBTQ+ Americans Under Attack—accompanying the group's declaration. "During this legislative session, there have been over 525 state bills introduced that attack the LGBTQ+ community, and over 220 of those target the transgender community. As of press time, more than 70 of those have become law."
"These laws are fueled by an anti-LGBTQ+ Republican establishment—and coordinated, well-funded extremist groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, Heritage Foundation, and the Family Policy Alliance—insistent on trying to control our families and lives," she added.
As the report details:
Just look at what's playing out in Texas and Tennessee and Florida. These states are banning educators from talking about LGBTQ+ issues and teaching Black history, and are banning gender-affirming care and abortion care. These same states do nothing to ensure the freedom of children to be safe from gun violence and do nothing to protect the freedom of democracy when Black and trans voices are silenced in state legislatures.
Or look at Governor Ron DeSantis, who has weaponized his position as a lawmaker to target LGBTQ+ families, Black and Brown Floridians, immigrants, and private businesses. Even with the majority of Floridians forcefully opposing his anti-LGBTQ laws and despite surging support for LGBTQ+ families nationally, DeSantis has been crisscrossing the country to attack our community.
HRC notes some bright spots, like Michigan, which recently became the 22nd state to codify LGBTQ+ protection and Minnesota, which this year banned so-called "conversion therapy."
(Graphic: Human Rights Campaign)
The report also hails Democratic state lawmakers including Machaela Cavanaugh—who unsuccessfully filibustered Nebraska's ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth—and Zooey Zephyr, whose vocal opposition to Montana's gender-affirming care ban got her kicked out of the Legislature by her Republican colleagues.
In addition to the emergency declaration, HRC published a downloadable guidebook for the LGBTQ+ community that includes information on health and safety resources for travelers, a summary of state laws, and a "know your rights" section.
"LGBTQ+ Americans are living in a state of emergency," Robinson said in a statement. "The multiplying threats facing millions in our community are not just perceived—they are real, tangible, and dangerous. In many cases they are resulting in violence against LGBTQ+ people, forcing families to uproot their lives and flee their homes in search of safer states, and triggering a tidal wave of increased homophobia and transphobia that puts the safety of each and every one of us at risk."
"As we kick off LGBTQ+ Pride month, HRC will be working tirelessly to educate and arm the LGBTQ+ community with information and resources to ensure their safety," said Robinson, "whether they're planning summer travel through regions that are becoming increasingly hostile to LGBTQ+ people, or whether they already live in a state where legislative assaults and political extremism are continuing to put a target on our backs."
"There is an imminent threat to the health and safety of millions of LGBTQ+ people and families, who are living every day in uncertainty and fear."
HRC's emergency declaration follows an April travel advisory for Florida issued by LGBTQ+, racial justice, and immigrant rights groups.
"There is an imminent threat to the health and safety of millions of LGBTQ+ people and families, who are living every day in uncertainty and fear," Robinson asserted. "Our number one priority will always be ensuring that LGBTQ+ people are safe and have the tools they need to defend and protect themselves against acts of hostility, discrimination, and—in the most extreme cases—violence."
"It's also incumbent on our allies across the country to stand with us and make it clear that they won't sit idly by while extremists attack and malign LGBTQ+ people and our families," Robinson added. "We'll fight tooth and nail to ensure the safety and dignity of every LGBTQ+ person is respected and protected—without exception."
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'Dangerous and Undemocratic,' Says Zooey Zephyr as Judge Denies Bid to Return to Montana House
"There is an awakening happening in this country, where people are seeing how willing certain groups are to throw away democracy in pursuit of their ideological goals."
May 03, 2023
A Montana judge on Tuesday rejected Rep. Zooey Zephyr's legal bid to return to the state House, a decision that the transgender lawmaker decried as a "dangerous and undemocratic continuation" of Republicans' attempts to silence anyone who speaks out against their attacks on marginalized groups and efforts to roll back basic rights.
Zephyr, who Montana Republicans silenced and barred from the state House floor after she warned lawmakers would have blood on their hands if they backed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, said the ruling upholding the GOP's move implies that "the Legislature isn't beholden to the Constitution—that there is no right to free speech in the face of a supermajority."
It also suggests that "two-thirds of a legislature could come together to silence any member, along with their constituents," said Zephyr, the first openly trans woman elected to the Montana Legislature.
"This cannot be true: Legislators do not lose their right to free speech when they are elected, and my constituents should never lose their right to representation in the people's house," Zephyr continued. "I will exhaust every avenue to make sure the people who elected me receive their representation. If I cannot do it in the chamber, I will take it to the courts. And if my constituents are not granted their representation by the courts, I will take it to the ballot box."
"There is an awakening happening in this country, where people are seeing how willing certain groups are to throw away democracy in pursuit of their ideological goals," she added. "And I will stand alongside my constituents, my community, and the world as we seek to ensure that our democratic institutions survive these attacks."
Earlier this week, the ACLU of Montana filed a lawsuit in state court arguing that the GOP's censure of Zephyr violated her First Amendment rights and "the rights of her 11,000 constituents to representation in their state government."
But Montana District Court Judge Mike Menahan, a former Democratic member of the Montana House, ruled Tuesday that overriding the Montana GOP "would require this court to interfere with legislative authority in a manner that exceeds this court's authority."
The Associated Press reported that Zephyr's attorneys are considering an appeal.
"But with the 2023 legislative session ending, a ruling in coming days would be of little immediate consequence," the outlet noted. "The punishment against Zephyr was through the end of the 2023 session. Since Montana's Legislature convenes every two years, Zephyr would have to be reelected in 2024 before she could return to the House floor in two years."
In an interview with TIME on Tuesday, Zephyr described her treatment at the hands of the Montana GOP as a manifestation of "broader growing extremism in the far-right," which "will toss democratic principles to the side to accomplish ideological goals."
Zephyr said she sees parallels between her censure and the recent expulsion of Tennessee state Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, who were temporarily removed from the state Legislature for showing solidarity with constituents protesting gun violence inside the House chamber.
Zephyr also pointed to the case of Oklahoma state Rep. Mauree Turner, a nonbinary Democratic lawmaker who was recently censured by their Republican colleagues.
Zephyr and Turner have both sounded the alarm over the GOP's escalating attacks on trans people. According to one watchdog organization, Republicans in 14 states have approved anti-trans legislation so far this year.
Last week, Montana's Republican governor signed into law a ban on gender-affirming care, ignoring a plea from his own son, who is nonbinary. The law, which resembles other measures advanced across the country, is set to take effect in October.
"I anticipate that there will be lawsuits before then," Zephyr said Tuesday. "My expectation is that this law, which we know is cruel and gets trans kids killed, is unconstitutional."
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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."
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."
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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.
"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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GOP Cynically Recast Progressive State House Protests as 'Insurrection'
"It's as if they learned a word on January 6th for the first time and never figured out what it meant," quipped one critic.
Apr 28, 2023
Progressives are pushing back this week against Republicans' conflation of peaceful protests by Democratic state lawmakers defending their constituents' rights with the deadly insurrection effort on January 6, 2021 by supporters of then-President Donald Trump in service of subverting a presidential election.
After seven protesters were arrested Monday in the Montana legislature following Republican lawmakers' silencing of state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D-100) over her impassioned defense of transgender and nonbinary children, a group of GOP legislators accused her of "encouraging an insurrection."
"Peaceful protest is not insurrection."
Although the demonstration was entirely peaceful, the Republicans—members of the Montana Freedom Caucus—blasted what they falsely called "the violent protesters" and urged "immediate disciplinary action" against Zephyr, who is transgender.
"They want to ring alarm bells and they want to compare this to January 6," Andy Nelson, the Democratic Party chair in Missoula County, Montana—which includes Zephyr's district—told the Associated Press. "There's absolutely no way you can compare what happened on Monday with the January 6 insurrection. Violence occurred that day. No violence occurred in the gallery of the Montana House."
It's not just Montana. Republican state lawmakers in Tennessee called it an "insurrection" and a "riot" when Democratic Reps. Justin Jones (D-52), Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson (D-90) took to the well of the legislative chamber to support thousands of Nashville-area students rallying outside for gun control measures following the March 27 Covenant School massacre. Republicans voted to expel Jones and Pearson from the legislature over the protests, though they were swiftly reinstated by municipal councils.
Republicans "are trying to dismiss the integrity and sincerity of what all these people are calling for," Tennessee Democratic Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-55) told the AP. "They're dismissing what it is just to avoid the debate on this issue."
"My colleagues across the aisle have spent so much time trying to silence the minority party that anyone speaking up and amplifying their voice probably strikes them as insurrectionist, even though it doesn't resemble anything like it," he added.
Donald Trump Jr. and other Republicans also described a peaceful February protest at the Oklahoma State Capitol against a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender youth as an "insurrection."
"Tennessee. Oklahoma. Montana. The GOP seems to want to redefine the word 'insurrection' to include literally any peaceful protest they don't like," tweeted independent journalist and transgender rights activist Erin Reed, who is also Zephyr's partner. "It's as if they learned a word on January 6th for the first time and never figured out what it meant."
Noah Bookbinder, president of the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), asserted that "peaceful protest is not insurrection," and that such conflation "waters down the seriousness of the real insurrection we saw on Jan. 6, 2021."
Attorney and voting rights activist James Slattery tweeted, "I can't help but compare the recent Republican efforts to silence legislators in various states who are acting in good faith to advocate for their constituents—while at the national level the Republicans have done nothing to expel members of Congress who incited an insurrection."
According to a July 2022 Monmouth University poll, just 13% of Republican voters considered the January 6 attack an "insurrection"—down from 33% a year earlier. More than 6 in 10 respondents described the effort by Trump supporters to stop certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory as an act of "legitimate protest."
Legal experts say "insurrection" has a very specific definition.
"Disrupting things is a far cry from insurrection," University of North Carolina law professor Michael Gerhardt told the AP. "It's just a protest, and protesters are not insurrectionists."
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Montana GOP Bars Trans Lawmaker From House Floor Over Protest
"If you use decorum to silence people who hold you accountable, then all you are doing is using decorum as a tool for oppression," said Rep. Zooey Zephyr.
Apr 26, 2023
Montana's first transgender lawmaker, state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, was barred from entering the House floor on Wednesday afternoon as the Republican majority voted in favor of formally disciplining her over remarks she made last week about a ban on gender-affirming healthcare.
Under the motion, Zephyr (D-100) will be permitted only to cast votes remotely for the duration of the legislative session, which ends May 6.
The House voted 68-32 along party lines to bar Zephyr from the House floor just over a week after she told Republicans that they would have "blood on their hands" if they supported a ban on gender-affirming care for youths.
GOP leaders claimed the motion to formally punish Zephyr was in response to a protest by her supporters in the House gallery on Monday, which they accused her of encouraging. During the protest, Zephyr stood on the House floor and held up a nonfunctioning microphone as the protesters, seven of whom were arrested, were led out of the gallery.
Since Zephyr's comments last Tuesday, she has not been recognized by House Speaker Matt Regier (R-4), who has demanded Zephyr apologize.
On Wednesday, she spoke on the House floor for the first time since being silenced by the GOP.
"We have seen bills targeting our art forms, our books, our history, and our healthcare," Zephyr said of the transgender and nonbinary community. "And I rose up in defense of my community [last Tuesday], speaking to harms that these bills bring."
She condemned the Republicans for accusing her of lacking "decorum" during Monday's protest and last week's debate.
"If you use decorum to silence people who hold you accountable, then all you are doing is using decorum as a tool for oppression," she said.
Zephyr also noted that in accusing the Republicans of having "blood on their hands," she was referring to studies showing that transgender youths are significantly less likely to experience depression or suicidal ideation if they receive gender-affirming care, which is strongly supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and other groups representing health experts.
The vote to bar Zephyr, who represents 11,000 constituents, from the House floor is "blatantly anti-democratic," said Alejandra Caraballo of the Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic.
Montana House Minority Leader Kim Abbott (D-83) noted that "there is an opportunity cost to choosing this path" as the body debated the motion.
"We don't have a state budget, we don't have a plan for housing, we don't have a plan for childcare," Abbott said. "And today we're on this floor, debating this motion."
"I'm not sure what comes next here," said Zephyr, "but I will do what I have always done. I will rise in support of my community. I will take the hard and moral choice to stand up for the people who elected me to do so. And I am grateful for those who stood up in defense of democracy."
As the Montana House voted to bar Zephyr from the floor, Nebraska state Sen. Megan Hunt (D-8) said she had been informed that she was under investigation for a conflict of interest due to her vote against a bill to limit gender-affirming care. Hunt has a transgender child.
"They are going full in on fascism by targeting any state representatives that stand up for trans people," said Caraballo. "It's not enough to pass these hurtful laws, they also have to silence and make examples of anyone who stands up to them."
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'Let Her Speak!': 7 Arrested in Protest Over Montana GOP's Silencing of Trans Lawmaker
"Today we saw Montanans show up and engage in the democratic process, and some of those Montanans were arrested," said one state House Democrat.
Apr 25, 2023
Chants of "Let her speak!" rang out in the Montana House on Monday afternoon as constituents and supporters of state Rep. Zooey Zephyr demanded that the Republican Party end its silencing of the transgender lawmaker over an impassioned defense of nonbinary and transgender children she gave last week.
For the third day in a row, state House Speaker Matt Regier (R-4) refused to let Zephyr (D-100) participate in a debate on legislation, this time regarding whether students should be permitted to use the names and pronouns of their choosing at school without parental consent.
After House Minority Leader Kim Abbott (D-83) called on Regier to allow Zephyr to speak about the bill, 63 members voted against the motion, sparking outrage from the advocates who had assembled in the gallery above the House floor after making a nearly two-hour trip from Missoula to support the first-term lawmaker.
As the Democrats supporters demanded that the leadership "let her speak," leaders cut the sound and video feed to the floor while Zephyr held up a nonfunctional microphone, symbolizing the Republicans' decision to silence her since she accused them of having "blood on their hands" last week for supporting a ban on gender-affirming healthcare last week. The legislation, which Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte has said he will sign, is one of hundreds of anti-LGBTQ+ bills making its way through state legislatures.
Zephyr's comments were made last Tuesday and were cited later that day as the Montana Freedom Caucus' reason for demanding the House censure the Democrat, in a statement in which the group also misgendered Zephyr.
Regier has said he is refusing to recognize Zephyr on the House floor until she apologizes for her remarks in order "to protect the dignity and integrity" of the chamber.
Zephyr has stood by her comments, which referred to the fact that gender-affirming medical care has been linked to sharply reduced rates of suicidal ideation and depression among transgender youths.
"I was sent here to speak on behalf of my constituents and to speak on behalf of my community. It's the promise I made when I got elected and it's a promise that I will continue to keep every single day," Zephyr told reporters before entering the chamber on Monday.
Seven protesters were arrested after being escorted from the House gallery, including some by force.
The Helena Independent Record filmed the arrests, in which police officers were seen pushing the protesters and telling them to "move back" and "stop resisting."
The Montana Freedom Caucus called the demonstration an "insurrection" and again urged "disciplinary action" against Zephyr for inciting violence at the House. Zephyr has not been censured thus far.
Republicans have indicated that they will not back down from their demand that Zephyr apologize.
The standoff comes a month after two Democratic state lawmakers were expelled from the Tennessee state House—and later reinstated by local councils—for taking part in a protest demanding gun control following a school shooting in Nashville.
Abbott told The Washington Post that the protest on Monday was "an incredible statement in support of the trans, nonbinary, and Two Spirit community—and against the Republican agenda that would strip our neighbors of their basic rights, dignity, and humanity."
"Today we saw Montanans show up and engage in the democratic process, and some of those Montanans were arrested," she said.
Zephyr left the House floor after her supporters were arrested "to show support for those who were arrested defending democracy," she said on social media.
The seven protesters were booked and released from a county detention center.
The House is scheduled to convene again Tuesday afternoon.
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Montana's Sole Transgender Lawmaker Silenced for Saying GOP Has 'Blood on Its Hands'
"When there are bills targeting the LGBTQ community, I stand up to defend my community," said state Rep. Zooey Zephyr. "And I choose my words with clarity and precision and I spoke to the real harms that these bills bring."
Apr 21, 2023
Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr said ahead of a scheduled legislative session in the state House on Friday that she is "ready to speak" on behalf her constituents, but Republican leaders have given no indication that they'll allow her to do so after silencing her this week in retaliation for comments she made about transgender rights.
State House Speaker Matt Regier (R-4) has refused to acknowledge Zephyr (D-100), the state's only transgender lawmaker, on Thursday when she tried to speak during a debate about a bill that would include binary definitions of "male" and "female" in the state code, and other legislation unrelated to the rights of transgender and nonbinary people.
The Republicans' refusal to allow Zephyr to speak on the House floor follows her comments made on Tuesday about a bill that would ban gender-affirming health care for transgender youths.
"If you are denying gender-affirming care and forcing a trans child to go through puberty, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed," said Zephyr. "If you vote yes on this bill, I hope the next time you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands."
Soon after, the right-wing Montana Freedom Caucus wrote a letter to the Legislature—posted on Twitter along with a message that misgendered Zephyr—calling for the lawmaker to be censured for using "inappropriate and uncalled-for language" during the debate, unless she issued a formal apology.
Zephyr has refused to do so, saying in a statement that the Republicans' goal is not securing an apology, but "silence as they take away the rights of queer and trans Montanans."
"The Montana GOP has pushed over a dozen anti-trans bills this year—targeting our art forms, our stories, our healthcare, and our very existence," said Zephyr. "It is particularly troubling that the moment they were confronted with the impact their legislation has, they chose to silence the only trans woman elected to public office in Montana as opposed to doing the right thing and voting down this harmful legislation."
"My light is on and I am ready to speak," she added.
When he refused to acknowledge Zephyr on Thursday, Regier said he was doing so "to protect the dignity and integrity" of the legislative body.
All 32 Democratic House members rose in solidarity with Zephyr on Thursday, and groups including the Montana American Indian Caucus and the Missoula County Democrats have expressed support for her.
House Republicans, said the Missoula County Democrats, are "silencing not only the voice of Rep. Zephyr, but also the voices of roughly 11,000 Montanans in House District 100."
Bolstering her statement that Republicans have "blood on their hands," Zephyr on Tuesday shared a letter state lawmakers received last month from an emergency physician who treated a transgender teenager who said the GOP's opposition to gender-affirming healthcare such as puberty blockers, hormonal treatment, and surgery had contributed to their suicidal ideation.
"Every yes vote on a discriminatory bill targeting transgender Montanans contributed to this child being driven to the point of wanting to kill themselves," the doctor wrote.
As Zephyr noted in her remarks on Tuesday, access to gender-affirming treatment for youths suffering from gender dysphoria is strongly supported by the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychiatric Association, and other medical organizations—and cutting access to such treatment is linked to far higher rates of suicide and depression among transgender and nonbinary teens.
"When there are bills targeting the LGBTQ community, I stand up to defend my community," Zephyr told the Associated Press Friday. "And I choose my words with clarity and precision and I spoke to the real harms that these bills bring."
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House GOP, Biden Both Under Fire for Trans Sports Proposals
"I think there is intent from the Biden administration to protect trans athletes," said a Montana lawmaker, "but you can't reconcile that intent with the fact that this policy opens the potential pathway for discrimination."
Apr 11, 2023
Both the Biden administration and Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives are facing criticism this week for proposals related to restricting transgender athletes from participating in sports teams and events that align with their gender identity.
While the House GOP's bill is explicitly designed to exclude trans women and girls, the Biden administration's pending rule aims to "provide needed clarity, in response to questions from stakeholders, on how recipients can ensure that students have equal opportunity to participate on male and female athletic teams as required by Title IX."
Title IX is a 1972 federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education programs and activities that receive federal funding.
As a U.S. Department of Education fact sheet on the administration's proposal details:
Under the proposed regulation, schools would not be permitted to adopt or apply a one-size-fits-all policy that categorically bans transgender students from participating on teams consistent with their gender identity.
Instead, the department's approach would allow schools flexibility to develop team eligibility criteria that serve important educational objectives, such as ensuring fairness in competition or preventing sports-related injury. These criteria would have to account for the sport, level of competition, and grade or education level to which they apply. These criteria could not be premised on disapproval of transgender students or a desire to harm a particular student. The criteria also would have to minimize harms to students whose opportunity to participate on a male or female team consistent with their gender identity would be limited or denied.
"What I would say is think about intent versus impact," Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D-100) told VICE. "I think there is intent from the Biden administration to protect trans athletes but you can't reconcile that intent with the fact that this policy opens the potential pathway for discrimination."
Zephyr is among 14 transgender and nonbinary state legislators who on Monday sent a letter to President Joe Biden highlighting legislative attacks on trans athletes—20 states have passed sports bans and over 450 anti-trans bills have been put forth this year—and detailing their concerns with his administration's proposed changes to Title IX.
"While we understand the administration may have been attempting to provide legal protections and clarity, in actuality these proposed rule changes will simply provide those who seek to deny us our rights a roadmap for how to do so," the lawmakers wrote. "To put it plainly, there is not such thing as an acceptable 'compromise' that limits transgender Americans access to equal rights."
"Trans athletes belong in sports," they argued. "When discussing questions around fairness in sports, rather than granting credence to false narratives around the supposed advantages of trans athletes, we should instead be asking why trans people are so deeply underrepresented—in their participation, in their successes, and in athletic scholarships."
The lawmakers called on the administration to work with transgender legislators, lawyers, and activists "to revise this proposed policy in a way that allows trans people to fully participate in the sports of their choosing, and does not perpetuate unfounded and harmful claims about trans athletes."
As state legislators from Colorado, Delaware, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Vermont wrote to Biden, professional, Olympic, and Paralympic athletes on the same day took aim at the House GOP bill.
The so-called Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act (H.R. 734) was reintroduced by Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) in February and received a hearing by the GOP-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce last month.
The new letter from critics of the bill was organized by Athlete Ally, which works to end homophobia and transphobia in sports.
"As professional, Olympic, and Paralympic athletes, we have dedicated our lives to sports," the letter states. "Sports have given us our greatest friends, taught us incredible life lessons, and given us the confidence and drive to succeed in the world. Those of us who love sport know that its value goes far beyond the playing field, to developing a sense of self and identity, and reflecting what we value as a community. Sport is a tremendous outlet for physical and mental health, teaches valuable lessons on teamwork and discipline, and has brought us lifelong community. Every single child should have access to the lifesaving power of sports."
If H.R. 734 passes, "transgender and intersex girls and women throughout the country will be forced to sit on the sidelines, away from their peers and their communities," the athletes warned. "Furthermore, the policing of who can and cannot play school sports will very likely lead to the policing of the bodies of all girls, including cisgender girls. This will deter girls from participating in sports and create additional barriers. Denying children access to a place where they can gain significant mental and physical health benefits, and learn lifelong lessons that come from being part of a team and working hard towards your goals does not protect women in sports."
"We believe that gender equity in sport is critical, which is why we urge policymakers to turn their attention and effort to the causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few," the letter concludes. "Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion, and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law."
Signatories include Abby Dunkin, a Paralympic gold medalist in wheelchair basketball; Olympic and professional soccer player Megan Rapinoe; Olympic and professional basketball player Sue Bird; trans powerlifter JayCee Cooper; Patricio Manuel, the first trans boxer to compete professionally; and CeCe Telfer, who as a track and field athlete at Franklin Pierce University was the first trans person to win a National Collegiate Athletic Association title.
"I'm proud to have signed onto this open letter in support of trans and intersex youth and against H.R. 734," Telfer tweeted. "Every child deserves the right to play the sport they love."
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