2023-05-02 13:32:21
After Montana Republicans barred him from sitting in that state’s parliament on Wednesday, elected transgender Democrat Zooey Zephyr announced on Monday, May 1, that he had initiated legal proceedings.
UNITED STATES – This is a political controversy that illustrates the anti-trans campaign at work among American conservatives. After Montana Republicans barred him from sitting in that state’s parliament on Wednesday, elected transgender Democrat Zooey Zephyr announced on Monday, May 1, that he had initiated legal proceedings.
First banned from speaking for almost a week, Zooey Zephyr was then banned until the end of the parliamentary session. At issue: his vehement opposition to a law that makes several treatments inaccessible to trans minors. A law that has since enacted by the state’s Republican governor.
“This effort by House leaders to silence me and my constituents is a disturbing and terrifying affront to democracy itself”, denounced Zooey Zephyr in a press release. “ House leaders targeted me explicitly and directly […] because I dared to voice the values and needs of transgender people like me. »
I’m suing.
The recent actions violate my 1st amendment rights, as well as the rights of my 11,000 constituents to… https://t.co/xomNVkkSWP
— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold)
“Blood on Your Hands”
Last week, the elected official felt that her colleagues should ” to be ashamed “ to pass a law prohibiting the delivery of hormonal treatments to transgender minors to ensure their transition. “The next time…when you bow your head in prayer, I hope you will see the blood on your hands”had launched the elected address of the Republicans.
She then refused to apologize, which the Republican speaker of the local parliament demands to have her reinstated. “When I stood up to say there’s blood on your hands, I wasn’t hyperbole”she insisted in a speech before the vote, believing that many transgender people commit suicide because of laws targeting them. “If you use propriety to silence those who hold you accountable, you are only using propriety as a tool of oppression”she argued.
In a press release, a spokesperson for the Attorney General of Montana announced the color in the face of this complaint, which represents “political activism disguised as a trial”. « Any relief awarded by the court would be a flagrant violation of the separation of powers”he has already estimated.
Cultural Battle
This conflict is the latest example of the cultural battle between the two major American parties on the delicate issue of transgender people. Since January, 29 new laws restricting the rights of transgender people have been passed in 14 US states, according to an analysis of data from the powerful civil rights association ACLU, published last week by the Washington Post.
More than 56% of transgender youth have had suicidal thoughts in their lifetime and 31% have made at least one suicide attempt, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Available studies on the subject show that these young people feel better when they have access to puberty blockers or hormonal treatments. But many Republicans denounce the irreversible effects of some of these treatments and want to ban them.
See also on Le HuffPost :
1683037171
#Zooey #Zephyr #elected #transgender #suspended #Republicans #files #complaint
