Li Zhou: Montana Republicans Are Punishing a Trans Lawmaker for Criticizing Their Anti-Trans Bill

“I think what we’re seeing is that when marginalized communities, communities who are impacted the most by legislation, rise up and speak to the harm, whether it’s me speaking on trans issues, whether it’s young Black men speaking on gun violence,” Zephyr said in a CBS News interview. “Those folks in power, particularly on the far right, do not want to be held accountable for the real harm that these bills bring.”

This latest trend of Republicans in states where they have absolute power using that power to expel their opponents is pretty scary. But wait, what caused this latest example?

In the days since, a conservative group of lawmakers in the Montana Freedom Caucus released a letter lambasting Zephyr’s comments and misgendering her. They argued that she should be censured for “attempting to shame the Montana legislative body and by using inappropriate and uncalled-for language.” Specifically, they called out the comment she made about lawmakers seeing “blood on your hands.”

Ah yes, the old “our legislation will hurt (and likely kill) people, but the real crime is saying that out loud. Bunch of snowflakes over there in Montana, it seems.