A transgender Democratic representative has been banned from speaking in the Montana state legislature for her criticism of an anti-transgender law. According to a bipartisan vote in Parliament yesterday, Zooey Zephyr will not be allowed to speak again until she apologizes for saying Republicans would have “blood on their hands” if they legislated juvenile gender reassignment procedures.
The law, which was criticized by the democratic politician and finally passed by the deputies, provides for a ban on the use of puberty blockers and surgical conversions in the conservatively governed US state.
Republicans want to score points with voters
The Republicans recently presented a series of initiatives against transgender people – an issue with which they want to score points with conservative voters. Several conservative-governed US states have passed laws banning gender reassignment procedures for young people.
According to a survey by the American Civil Liberties Union published this week by the Washington Post, 29 new laws restricting the rights of transgender people have been passed in 14 US states since January. Experts and the Democrats condemn the procedure as anti-transgender and warn of the consequences for those affected, who often have to struggle with psychological problems.
