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‘Blood On Your Hands’: Transgender Lawmaker Loses It During Floor Debate, State Republicans Call For Censure

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Democratic Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr faces calls for censure after tearing into Republicans and claiming that their policies would result in the death of transgender-identifying children.

The Montana State Legislature debated amendments to Senate Bill 99, which would ban sex change procedures for minors. Republican Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte suggested amendments to the bill which would ban the government from subsidizing gender reassignment surgeries or hormone therapies for minors. (RELATED: New Study Claims Trans Patients Unhappy With Their New Bodies Suffer From ‘Internalized Transphobia’)

“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’s an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands,” Zephyr said.

The House ultimately voted in favor of the amendments 66-34.

Following Zephyr’s remarks, the Montana Freedom Caucus issued a statement demanding the lawmaker’s censure. The letter called Zephyr’s choice of words “inappropriate and un-called for.” The Caucus also claimed that rhetoric such as Zephyr’s incites violence.

“This kind of hateful rhetoric from an elected official is exactly why tragedies such as the Covenant Christian School shooting in Nashville occurred,” the Montana Freedom Caucus said in the statement.

Gianforte expressed sympathy for transgender-identifying youth, but said that sex-change procedures should wait until adulthood. The governor stated that the science behind these procedures is “unsettled and continues to evolve,” the Associated Press reported.