The Republican-backed prohibition on gender-affirming medical care for transgender children was approved by Montana’s governor on Friday, days after a transgender lawmaker who was protesting the bill was denied access to the state legislature’s floor, igniting a global uproar.
Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat, was censured by the Republican-controlled House on Wednesday and banned from the chamber for the remainder of the current legislative session for comments she made on April 18 that implied politicians who supported the bill would have blood on their hands.
Three days after the House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 99, Republican Governor Greg Gianforte signed it into law.
With scores of identical legislation submitted in legislatures around the U.S., Republican politicians have pushed a campaign to limit specific medical procedures provided for transgender youngsters, including hormone therapy and puberty blockers.
Opponents of transgender medical procedures claim that their long-term implications are not completely understood and that even with parental guidance, children and teenagers are too young to make such significant life decisions.
LGBTQ groups urged supporters to participate in a 24-hour protest event in Missoula
Zephyr, a first-term representative from Missoula, stated that depriving children who feel at odds with their natal sex of gender-affirming care is “tantamount to torture” and that a prohibition will increase the number of suicides.
Zephyr’s floor remarks at first prompted Republican House leaders to cut off her microphone. On Monday of this week, Zephyr organized a demonstration of her fans shouting “Let her speak!” from the audience gallery, which resulted in the arrest of seven protesters.
LGBTQ groups urged supporters to participate in a 24-hour protest event in Missoula on Friday and Saturday in response to the party-line decision on Wednesday to legally ban Zephyr from the House floor, gallery, and anteroom. The vote was 68-32 in favor.
White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday called the Montana Republican House action against Zephyr a “denial of democratic values”