On April 13, Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr was sitting in the basement of Montana\u2019s Capitol building reflecting on her time as one of the state\u2019s first two openly transgender legislators<\/a>. She wondered whether she needed to display more anger over anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, or whether she should focus on promoting more of what she called \u201ctransgender joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe thing that keeps me up at night is, am I doing a good job for my community?\u201d Zephyr said.<\/p>\n

Five days later, the anger bubbled over as Zephyr spoke against amendments from Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte to Senate Bill 99<\/a>, which would prohibit minors with gender dysphoria from receiving certain medical and surgical treatments. Zephyr said the lawmakers who voted for the measure should be ashamed.<\/p>\n

That prompted Republican Majority Leader Sue Vinton to speak. \u201cWe will not be shamed by anyone in this chamber,\u201d Vinton said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen the only thing I will say is: If you vote yes on this bill, and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there\u2019s an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,\u201d Zephyr said in response.<\/p>\n

Later that day, the Montana Freedom Caucus, a conservative group of lawmakers, released a statement calling for Zephyr\u2019s censure for using \u201cinappropriate and uncalled-for language.\u201d The release and a Freedom Caucus post on Twitter<\/a> used male pronouns to refer to Zephyr, leading to fresh outrage by LGBTQ+ supporters accusing Republicans of deliberately misgendering her.<\/p>\n

Two days later, Republican House Speaker Matt Regier would not allow Zephyr to speak during a debate on another bill. Regier said it was because she had committed a breach of decorum.<\/p>\n

With two weeks to go in the legislative session, Republican lawmakers, who are in the majority, are sponsoring anti-LGBTQ+ bills. There are at least four related measures, including the bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors.<\/p>\n

Many similar bills are being heard in conservative-led statehouses across the U.S. The American Civil Liberties Union has tracked more than 460 anti-LGBTQ+ bills<\/a> so far in 2023 legislative sessions.<\/p>\n

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Back in the Capitol on April 13, Zephyr stopped at a storytelling event presented by drag performers on the second floor. Parents, children, and supporters sat in folding chairs and on the floor while drag performers read stories.<\/p>\n
Zephyr was visibly emotional. A short time later, former Democratic lawmaker Moffie Funk, who also attended the storytelling event, approached Zephyr to thank her for her work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have just been so impressed to see the way Rep. Zephyr has handled questions on the floor, just keeps her calm, stays cool, and is so powerful in her words and so powerful in the way she represents her community and Montana,\u201d Funk said.<\/p>\n
Before the session, Zephyr said she had a goal of changing at least one person\u2019s heart<\/a> on LGBTQ+ issues.<\/p>\n
One lawmaker who typically votes in favor of anti-transgender bills told Zephyr about having read something about her in a far-right blog and said, \u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound like Zooey; she wouldn\u2019t do that.\u201d The lawmaker, whom Zephyr didn\u2019t name, subsequently stopped reading the blog.<\/p>\n
Proponents of measures like SB 99 and House Bill 359<\/a>, a bill that would have banned minors from drag shows and would have banned events like drag storytelling in public schools or libraries, frame the legislation as necessary to protect children.<\/p>\n
In a small victory for LGBTQ+ supporters, HB 359 was amended to remove references to drag performers and now would prohibit minors from attending \u201cadult-oriented\u201d shows.<\/p>\n
Democratic Rep. SJ Howell, who is transgender and nonbinary and uses the pronouns \u201cthey\u201d and \u201ctheir,\u201d has been working at the Capitol for a decade, first as a lobbyist and now as a lawmaker representing Missoula. In all their work, Howell said, it\u2019s very clear that relationships matter. Progress is a long game, and it may take years to pass legislation that promotes the rights and recognition of transgender and nonbinary people, Howell said.<\/p>\n
One thing that could hinder that progress is the national debate over anti-LGBTQ+ policy proposals.<\/p>\n
A drag performer participates in a rally outside the Montana Capitol on April 13 in Helena, in protest of anti-LGBTQ+ bills being sponsored in the legislature. (Keely Larson\/KFF Health News)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Erin Reed, who describes herself as a queer writer and content creator, has been tracking the LGBTQ+ bills nationwide and is also Zephyr\u2019s partner of almost a year.<\/p>\n
Four years ago, the debate playing out in statehouses was over transgender rights in sports, Reed said, but that\u2019s shifted. Now, a third of the bills target health care \u2014 like gender-affirming hormone therapy, mostly related to minors \u2014 and the rest focus on banning drag shows or the use of preferred pronouns and bathrooms, or targeting the rights of transgender people in insurance coverage and workplace protections.<\/p>\n
But beyond the flood of anti-LGBTQ+ bills, at least 15 states<\/a> have passed LBGTQ+ protections, Reed estimated.<\/p>\n
Howell said it\u2019s challenging being a state representative trying to focus on Montana when so much focus has been on this national issue.<\/p>\n
Personally, Howell said, they came to the legislature to build relationships and make good policy, and they see many of their colleagues as friends.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the mutual respect isn\u2019t present, it can be deeply frustrating and harmful, and we can do better as a body,\u201d Howell said.<\/p>\n
Republican Rep. Neil Duram sits between Zephyr and Howell on the House Judiciary Committee, which has heard all the LGBTQ+ bills this session. He said having both in the legislature better represents Montana.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it was just me, and 99 other people like me on the House floor, we may not set the best policy for the people of Montana,\u201d Duram said.<\/p>\n
Duram spoke during a House floor session discussing House Bill 361<\/a>, which would allow classmates to refer to a transgender student by their birth name or gender assigned at birth, unless it crossed into bullying. He said he\u2019s enjoyed getting to know Judiciary seatmate Zephyr and that he\u2019ll make sure people aren\u2019t \u201cinflicting bullying behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n
Duram voted for HB 361. He said his decision was encouraged by his community.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd, ultimately, that\u2019s where my conscience is going to sit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Montana state Rep. SJ Howell (back left), a Democrat, gathers with Montana Human Rights Network representatives, LGBTQ+ community members, and others, including state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (back right), for a news conference on Jan. 24 to express opposition to bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. (Keely Larson\/KFF Health News)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
On the morning of April 13, Howell and Zephyr were hearing testimony before the House Judiciary Committee on a bill that would define sex in Montana law, Senate Bill 458<\/a>. The vibe in the room felt heavy.<\/p>\n
Sen. Carl Glimm, sponsor of SB 458, said the bill seeks to define the terms \u201csex,\u201d \u201cmale,\u201d and \u201cfemale\u201d in state law. Glimm said the bill was necessary because people conflate sex and gender and maintained the bill wasn\u2019t about gender fluidity or expression.<\/p>\n
\u201cGender is obviously something different than biological sex. Biological sex is immutable and that means you can\u2019t change it, and there\u2019s only two biological sexes,\u201d Glimm said. \u201cYou may claim to be able to change your gender or express your gender in a different way, but you can never change your biological sex.\u201d<\/p>\n
LGBTQ+ advocates, like the Montana Human Rights Network, say that by defining people as simply male and female, the bill would legislate \u201ctransgender, nonbinary, and intersex people out of existence.\u201d The Montana Human Rights Network said the definitions used in SB 458 were based \u201con an unscientific and archaic understanding of basic biology.\u201d<\/p>\n
About an hour after the hearing, people gathered outside the Capitol in an April snowstorm for a drag show.<\/p>\n
Performers lip-synced for a crowd ranging from kids to college students to retired folks who were waving rainbow-colored flags and carrying umbrellas.<\/p>\n
As \u201cRise Up\u201d by Andra Day played in the background, Katie Fire Thunder said she came to the drag show from Bozeman to show her allyship with the LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n
Fire Thunder called this session\u2019s anti-LGBTQ+ bills \u201cdisgusting,\u201d and said they don\u2019t represent Montana or what young people care about. But having both Zephyr and Howell serving in the Capitol has made a major difference, Fire Thunder said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen things are really hard and there\u2019s all these hateful people, they\u2019re a little glimmer of hope,\u201d Fire Thunder said.<\/p>\n
Kole Burdick, 20, also of Bozeman, said it\u2019s important to \u201cuplift queer people and show moments of queer joy,\u201d and commended Zephyr and Howell for their work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think they\u2019ve been working really hard to protect our community and keep our community safe, and I really appreciate them for that,\u201d Burdick said.<\/p>\n
Keely Larson is the KFF Health News fellow for the UM Legislative News Service, a partnership of the University of Montana School of Journalism, the Montana Newspaper Association, and KFF Health News. Larson is a graduate student in environmental and natural resources journalism at the University of Montana.<\/em><\/p>\n
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