Topic: WorldNetDaily
As a website dying a slow death, WorldNetDaily has limited resources to throw what few remaining employees it has on a story. So it's indicative of the extremist editorial agenda that got it into its death spiral in the first place that it had a writer devote several articles to complaining about transgender Montana legislator Zooey Zephyr for calling out anti-trans hate.
That's not how Bob Unruh framed things, of course. In an April 19 article, Unruh painted Zephyr as the aggressor and dismissing her as a "Democrat [sic] man who says he is a woman":
Lawmakers in the Montana legislature are calling for censure of a transgender activist in their ranks, after he hoped they would see "blood on their hands" when they pray.
The Washington Examiner said the call for a reprimand for state Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat man who says he is a woman, comes from the state's Freedom Caucus.
The comments from Zephyr came after the House and Senate there adopted a bill that bans using cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and other transgender-related procedures including those that leave children with mutilated bodies.
The governor, Greg Gianforte, has indicated he supports the plan.
Zephyr took to the legislative floor to demand, "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."
In an April 21 article, Unruh accused Zephyr of unleashing "hate speech" -- while not explaining exactly where that "hate" was -- and cheered that the Montana legislature followed through on a censure:
A transgender lawmaker in Montana who unleashed hate speech against fellow legislators recently, hoping they would see "blood on their hands" when they pray, has been ordered not to speak on legislature issues until an apology is delivered.
The Gateway Pundit reported the discipline for Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a man who "identifies" as a woman, follows a call in the legislature for his censure.
Now Montana House Speaker Matt Regier has confirmed there are plans to "not recognize" Zephyr to speak on any bill until an apology is made for the lack of decorum, the report explained.
"It is up to me to maintain decorum here on the House floor, to protect the dignity and integrity. And any representative that I don’t feel can do that will not be recognized."
Zephyr subsequently complained of being stifled, and promised there would be no apology.
Unruh spent an April 25 article whining that Zephyr tried to fight back against the censrure (complete with misgendering and sneering that Zephyr is "a man dressing as a woman"):
A transgender lawmaker, a man dressing as a woman, in Montana recently was ordered silenced by his fellow lawmakers after verbally assaulting Republican members by charging they have "blood on their hands" if they oppose body mutilating surgeries for children.
Now a report in the Daily Mail pointed out that the lawmaker, Zooey Zephyr, tried to ignore that order and speak on the issue on Monday.
And when his microphone was turned off, he took a path often used by Democrat activists these days: he let his supporters disrupt the legislative body with chants of "Let her speak!"
[...]
WND reported when he first unleashed hate speech against fellow legislators, hoping they would see "blood on their hands" when they pray.
Unruh accused Zephyr of "hate speech" yet again in an April 27 article:
A transgender Democrat lawmaker who unleashed a diatribe of hate speech on Republicans in his Montana state House, expressing hope they would see "blood on their hands" when they pray, has been banned from the body for the remainder of this legislative session.
The vote barring Rep. Zooey Zephyr, a Democrat, was 68-32.
He originally had been barred from speaking for his attack on Republicans in the Republican-majority body.
WND reported when the fight erupted that the lawmakers were considering restricting body-mutilating surgeries on children – a key component of the transgender ideology that the Joe Biden administration is promoting all across America.
Zephyr, a man dressing as a woman, originally was ordered silenced when he verbally assaulted GOP members. He was told he would be allowed to participate again following an apology to members, which he has refused to provide.
This time around, Unruh surprisingly let Zephyr have a say , though his misgendering of her wasn't consistent and it still framed it in right-wing anti-trans narratives:
During the vote, he was allowed to argue on his own behalf, and claimed he was defending his "community" from "harms." He claimed that a trans individual had tried to commit suicide while watching one of the legislative sessions considering the bills that would protect children from chemical and surgical treatments, part of the transgender ideology, that would permanently mutilate their bodies.
He claimed, "I have had friends who have taken their lives because of these bills. I have fielded calls from families in Montana, including one family whose trans teenager attempted to take her life while watching a hearing on one of the anti-trans bills."
Zephyr has described her supporters' decision to interrupt the legislature and block the democratic process of lawmaking as "defending democracy."
After Zephyr lost a court bid to be reinstated, Unruh rehased the case in a May 3 article, with added dead-naming:
The fight erupted when Zephyr, whose original name was Zachary Raasch, launched a verbal attack against Republican lawmakers as they were voting on one LGBT agenda point.
[...]
Zephyr, a man dressing as a woman, originally was ordered silenced when he verbally assaulted GOP members. He was told he would be allowed to participate again following an apology to members, which he has refused to provide.
Pushing right-wing-friendly narratives and spouting anti-transgender hate is more important than reporting facts at WND -- which is one big reason why the website is slowly dying.
