Key takeaways:
- House Speaker refused to allow a transgender lawmaker to speak on the House floor until she apologizes for comments she made about a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
- In response, a group of activists held a “die-in” protest in the state Capitol rotunda.
- The Montana GOP is now refusing to let Zephyr speak for the rest of the legislative session, but Zephyr said she will not apologize and will not be silenced.
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s House Speaker on Thursday refused to allow a transgender lawmaker to speak on the House floor until she apologizes for comments she made about a bill to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who was deliberately misgendered by a group of conservative Republican lawmakers demanding her censure after Tuesday’s comments, said she would not apologize, creating a standoff between the first-term state lawmaker and Republican legislative leaders.
In response to the refusal to allow Zephyr to speak, a group of activists held a “die-in” protest on Friday in the state Capitol rotunda. The event was inspired by similar protests held by AIDS activists in the 1980s. Attendees of the Transgender Day of Visibility rally laid down on the floor in the rotunda and chanted “My body is my own.”
The Montana GOP is now refusing to let Zephyr speak for the rest of the legislative session. Izzi Milch, senior advocacy manager with Forward Montana, a nonprofit dedicated to helping younger residents to get engaged in politics and shape policies, said the event was meant to “visibly lay our bodies in this space and claim this space as our own.”
Zephyr said she will not apologize for her comments, and is continuing to fight for the rights of transgender people in Montana. She said she will not be silenced by the GOP’s refusal to allow her to speak.
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