Trans Rep. Zephyr on being only Montana lawmaker in decades to be censured

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, when the speaker of the House refused to recognize me, he was preventing me from representing the 11,000 Montanans who elected me to speak on bills on their behalf.

And this vote is a doubling down of that. Every bill we see in this House, from housing bills to the budget, will not have the voice of 11,000 Montanans participating in that process.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

So we have seen over a dozen anti-trans bills in my state and an escalation of those bills across America this year, over 400 pieces of legislation introduced.

These are bills that ban our art forms. They ban our literature. They ban our histories, and they ban our health care. And these -- the compiling of these pieces of legislation work to remove LGBTQ people from public life and make it harder for us to exist as ourselves and in our communities.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

We know statistics, as true as they are, often don't pierce the veil.

People don't tend to believe them when you talk to them about this, which is why I also bring in real stories from Montanans and people around the country. I have lost friends to suicide this year. I have had friends attacked on the side of the road. We even heard from a family whose trans teenager attempted suicide while watching one of the hearings.

And you bring this forward and try to talk to the real harm and deaths that these bills can lead to it.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

I think what it really looks like is, we have seen an unequal application of decorum in the House.

And what happens is, when marginalized communities are standing up, and whether that's me speaking here, whether that's folks in Tennessee, talking about gun violence and the impact on their communities, when marginalized communities speak up about the real harm bills bring, we're in an era right now where legislatures led by far right Republicans are saying, it's not enough to get these bills passed, but you must be silent and there must be repercussions for holding them accountable.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Yes, I have been talking with my fellow Democrats about the importance of standing up on these issues, how do I talk about them on the floor and, going forward, how can we best work for my community, my constituents, now that my voice has been silenced in the House and do the work for the people of Montana?

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Well, it's important to note that this is in contrast with the joy that comes from a trans person getting to live fully as ourselves, the joy we get to -- we get to have when we exist in our communities as who we truly are.

It is concerning, and the escalation is concerning. We saw this begin -- begin with targeting sports bans of trans people. And, very quickly, they use similar rhetoric to go after health care bans and book bans and obscenity. And we're seeing in Missouri full adult care bans. We're seeing, in Florida, bans that actually allow for people to remove children, trans children, from their parents or children from their parents if their parent happens to be trans.

It's very concerning. And our community needs help.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Thank you for having me.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source