The representative will only be able to vote remotely.
The punishment caps a week of clashes in the House, a consequence of Zephyr’s words against a law that was eventually enacted and that prohibits transgender minors from receiving specific medical treatments, such as hormones and puberty blockers.
“I hope the next time you bow your head in prayer, you see blood on your hands,” Zephyr said last week, before the law was passed.
In retaliation, the speaker of the House, Republican Matt Regier, had withdrawn the right to speak on condition of an apology. But this Wednesday, the motion promoted by the conservative party raised the punishment.
“If they are using propriety to silence people who demand accountability, then what they are using propriety as a tool of oppression,” Zephyr said before his colleagues voted to bar him from the House.
“When I said there was blood on his hands, I was not being hyperbolic. I was talking about the real consequences of the votes that we, as lawmakers, take in this body,” he added.
“What they really ask me is to remain silent when my community is faced with bills that kill us (…). And I refuse to do it.”
“The representative clearly violated the rights of the collective (…) and the decorum of the House,” said Republican deputy Sue Vinton on Wednesday, presenting the motion that removes Zephyr from the instance and which passed with 68 votes in favor. and 32 against.
The confrontation in the House of the conservative state of Montana is the most recent episode in the debate for the rights of the LGBTQ + community, an issue that deeply divides the United States.