美国国家公共电台 NPR--Lawmakers in Montana's House vote to punish transgender lawmaker Rep. Zephyr

Lawmakers in Montana's House vote to punish transgender lawmaker Rep. Zephyr¹

Transcript²

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Mara Silvers, a reporter for the Montana Free Press, about why the state's House of Representatives voted to formally discipline transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This next story takes us to Montana, where the Republican-dominated state legislature voted to bar a transgender lawmaker from the floor.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Democrat³ Zooey Zephyr is the first transgender woman elected to Montana's Legislature. She made comments about Republicans with blood on their hands, then seemed to encourage protesters. Republicans said she violated their rules and voted against her, even though a son of Montana's conservative governor spoke⁴ up, coming out as nonbinary and opposing the Legislature's anti-trans legislation.

MARTIN: Joining us now is the reporter who broke that story, Montana Free Press's Mara Silvers. Mara, good morning. Thanks so much for joining us.

MARA SILVERS: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

MARTIN: So let's start with the punishment imposed upon the transgender lawmaker. What happened?

SILVERS: Yeah, so the Republican supermajority in the Montana House voted to bar Democrat Zooey Zephyr from the House floor for the rest of the session. She'll still be able to vote on bills, but she won't be allowed to participate in any debate on them.

MARTIN: And why do the Republicans or the leadership say this needed to happen, that she needed to be punished in this way?

SILVERS: Basically, they say she was egging on protesters in the House gallery on Monday who were there demonstrating on her behalf. And the protesters were there because Republicans had blocked Zephyr from speaking on the floor for several days after they accused her of shaming lawmakers over a bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors⁵. Zephyr had alluded⁶ to the bill as increasing suicide risks for trans people and said lawmakers who voted for it would see blood on their hands. So while protesters were chanting, let her speak, in the gallery earlier this week, Zephyr was standing⁷ out on the floor, holding her microphone in the air. Police cleared the public out. Seven people were arrested. And Republicans say that Zephyr's engagement helped incite⁸ that disruption.

MARTIN: What does Zephyr say about that? What's her response been to this, and have there been other responses?

SILVERS: Yeah, she really disagrees that her actions are the problem here. She says Republicans were the ones who brought these bills targeting trans people and barred her from speaking about their impact in the first place. And Democrats⁹ have said Republicans are applying rules about decorum unevenly¹⁰ and that this discipline route really undermines democracy by sanctioning a representative who's been trying to speak on behalf of her constituents¹¹.

MARTIN: Tell me about the makeup¹² of the Legislature. You said earlier there's a Republican supermajority, right?

SILVERS: Right. Republicans have a supermajority, and they hold the governor's office for the first time in 16 years. The opposition¹³ to the bills targeting trans people has been quite vocal¹⁴, but the bills are expected to pass and be signed into law. But yesterday, one of the people who started really speaking out publicly about their opposition was actually a member of Governor Greg Gianforte's own family.

MARTIN: You reported that the governor's son David Gianforte, who lives in Montana, identifies as nonbinary, uses he and they pronouns and decided¹⁵ to go public with their story. Why did they decide to go public?

SILVERS: Yeah, David told me that they'd kind of reached a personal turning point in their own political journey on this. They've been tracking these bills all session, and he says that they'll have a harmful effect on some of his own friends and community members. So David started lobbying the governor to veto these bills about a month ago, and the governor hasn't signed or vetoed the gender-affirming care ban that's kind of at the root of this issue. It's on his desk, and that action could come any day now.

MARTIN: Mara Silvers is a reporter for Montana Free Press. Mara, thanks so much for sharing this reporting with us.

SILVERS: Thank you, Michel.

1 zephyr   

n.和风，微风

参考例句：

• I feel very comfortable in the zephyr from the sea.从海上吹来的和风令我非常惬意。
• Zephyr,the West Wind,blew away the clouds so that Apollo,the sun god,could shine and made this flower bloom.西风之神吹散了云朵，太阳神阿波罗得以照耀它并使它开花。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 minors   

n.未成年人( minor的名词复数 )；副修科目；小公司；[逻辑学]小前提v.[主美国英语]副修，选修，兼修( minor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The law forbids shops to sell alcohol to minors. 法律禁止商店向未成年者出售含酒精的饮料。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had three minors this semester. 这学期他有三门副修科目。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 incite   

v.引起，激动，煽动

参考例句：

• I wanted to point out he was a very good speaker, and could incite a crowd.我想说明他曾是一个非常出色的演讲家，非常会调动群众的情绪。
• Just a few words will incite him into action.他只需几句话一将，就会干。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 unevenly   

adv.不均匀的

参考例句：

• Fuel resources are very unevenly distributed. 燃料资源分布很不均匀。
• The cloth is dyed unevenly. 布染花了。

11 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

13 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

14 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。