Trans Lawmaker from Missoula Barred from House Floor
Motion passes. In a two-thirds vote in support, a transgender lawmaker from Missoula has now been barred from the floor of the Montana House of Representatives following the mob action that took place in the capitol on Monday.
In a 68-32 party-line vote Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a male who identifies as a female, will now be barred from the floor of the House for the remainder of the legislative session, which is now nearing a close in just a few days.
Lawmakers voted to block Rep. Zephyr from the floor after Zephyr was seen cheering on the mob that took over the House gallery on Monday, got into a tussle with law enforcement, and were seen banging on the antique doors of the House chamber. Lawmakers who spoke in support of the disciplinary measure cited Zephyr's actions to incite the mob. 7 people were later arrested following Monday's mob action.
Here is the full video of the floor debate and the vote on Wednesday afternoon.
Rep. Casey Knudsen (R-Malta) made a great point. Even though he was opposed to initial decisions to block Zephyr from speaking on the floor, Monday's actions clearly warranted a response from the chamber.
It's also worth noting how all of this started. Rep. Zephyr made what many consider to be bigoted remarks targeting lawmakers of faith. Zephyr said that when the lawmakers look down during the invocation that he hopes they "see blood on their hands."
Rep. Zephyr refused to apologize for those remarks and instead incited the mob that stormed the Montana capitol on Monday.
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