The View host likens transgender lawmaker to Civil Rights Movement, Boston Tea Party
Julia Johnson
Video Embed
The View’s Sara Haines compared the protests of a censured transgender lawmaker in Montana’s House of Representatives to the Boston Tea Party, the Civil Rights Movement, and the women’s suffrage movement.
Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr was censured by the Montana House in a Wednesday vote after the transgender woman lawmaker made a controversial floor speech, telling colleagues, “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.”
FLORIDA MEN: KAT CAMMACK SPEAKS OUT ON LOOMING DESANTIS-TRUMP BATTLE
The speech came during debate on Senate Bill 99, which ultimately passed with a 66-34 vote. The bill would prohibit sex reassignment procedures for minors in the state.
iFrame Object
According to Haines, “this country was built on protest. That’s why it’s protected by that First Amendment.”
“When you look back to the Boston Tea Party, to the Civil Rights Movement, to a woman’s right to vote — that’s what this country is,” she claimed.
“They are shutting this person down, not only doing her job, but as an American,” said Haines. “Our First Amendment rights protect not only that right to speak and do her job, but also protest.”
She added that “We need to be having more conversations.”
The host said this is because “Conversation is the last step before violence.”
“To shut down the one voice you have in this House who is transgender is problematic because I believe everyone should be able to talk, regardless of identity, about every topic,” she continued.
“It is mandatory to have the lived experience represented at those tables,” Haines said. “Because it adds a unique part that those conversations cannot be had without.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Montana is one of several states which have moved to ban sex reassignment procedures such as hormone treatments and surgeries for minors.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Tennessee’s ban, set to take effect on July 1. The DOJ claims that the measure violates the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause. However, Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) said the suit is “federal overreach at its worst” and claimed, “we will work with Attorney General Skrmetti to push back in court and stand up for children.”