Trans state representative Zooey Zephyr launches blistering attack on ‘unhinged’ Capitol toilet ban
Transgender lawmaker Rep. Zooey Zephyr has taken to social media to blast the “obsessive and unhinged” US Capitol toilet ban.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the first openly trans person to be elected to the Montana legislature, took aim at a controversial resolution introduced by South Carolina Republican Nancy Mace to stop transgender people using the female’s toilet in the US house of representatives.
The resolution passed on Wednesday (20 November) – Trans Day of Remembrance – with house speaker Mike Johnson saying: “All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and house office buildings, such as restrooms, changing rooms and locker rooms, are reserved for individuals of that biological sex.”
Each member of the house has their own private toilet in their office, and unisex facilities are also available, he pointed out.
Sharing a copy of Johnson’s statement on X/Twitter, Zephyr wrote: “I just got out of meetings with members of congress and used the bathroom on my way out. Trans women are women, full stop. We’re every bit as ‘biologically female’ as cis women and speaker Johnson’s statement doesn’t change the fact that women’s spaces include trans women.”
She went on to say the “rage-baiting was detached from the day-to-day reality of being trans”, adding: “It’s obsessive and unhinged and an endless reminder that these folks have nothing to offer but fear and rage.”
I literally just got out of meetings with members of Congress & used the bathroom on my way out.
— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold) November 20, 2024
Trans women are women—full stop. We're every bit as "biologically female" as cis women & @SpeakerJohnson's statement doesn't change the fact that women's spaces include trans women. https://t.co/B4gpBkuXRo
In a further post, Zephyr reposted a video clip of New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticising the resolution and saying it will harm “all women and girls”, not just transgender people.
“Well said… every attack on trans people [is an effort to] manufacture rage for distraction/fundraising purposes [and] drive trans people out of public life,” Zephyr responded.
“And the logistics of the policies always boil down to Republicans making cis women less safe while blaming trans people.”
Well said! Every attack on trans people is an effort to both:
— Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@ZoAndBehold) November 21, 2024
– manufacture rage for distraction/fundraising purposes
– drive trans people out of public life
And the logistics of the policies always boil down to Republicans making cis women less safe while blaming trans people. https://t.co/84nWCXtCTB
The ban has caused a storm with Ocasio-Cortez and other LGBTQ+ supporters in congress condemning the measure and branding it bigotry, while figures on the right have supported the restriction.
Republican representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has allegedly said that she would “fight” any trans women who tried to use the female toilets.
Mace, who used to express support for the LGBTQ+ community, has since admitted the proposal was aimed directly at Sarah McBride, who in will become the first trans person in congress when she takes up her seat in January, after winning the election for Delaware’s at-large congressional district.
In response to being asked if the measure was about the McBride, Mace replied: “Yes absolutely and then some. I’m 100 per cent going to stand in the way of any man who wants to be in a woman’s restroom, in our locker rooms, in our changing rooms.
“I will be there fighting you every step of the way.”
McBride described the resolution as “a blatant attempt from right-wing extremists to distract from the fact that they have no real solutions to what Americans are facing”.
Rep. Zooey Zephyr went on to say: “We should be focused on bringing down the cost of housing, health care and child care, not manufacturing culture wars.”
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