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Montana State Rep. Zooey Zephyr is coming off a wild legislative session,one that ended with her being silenced. How does she feel now, after the session came to a close on May 2? Chin up, eyes forward to what comes next, she tellsTeen Vogue in a phone interview the following day.

On April 26, Montana conservatives made headlines for deciding to censure Zephyr. The reason given at the time was decorum.Teen Vogue spoke to Oklahoma Rep. Mauree Turner last week, who was censured nearly two months before Zephyr. (Zephyr and Turner are the first openly trans and openly nonbinary representatives in their states, respectively.) They are writing policy that will eradicate communities," Turner toldTeen Vogue. "That is what they are looking for: authoritarian rule and eradication of life. And you're worried about folks speaking up? That's not decorum for you?

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Following Zephyrs censure, 52 LGBTQ+ legislators from 19 states sent a letter of solidarity (coordinated by theState Innovation Exchange) to the State House leadership of both Montana and Oklahoma in support of both Zephyr and Turner. While it may be uncomfortable for some lawmakers to be confronted with public outcry and forthright debate, that is the purpose of the legislative process and the freedom your constituents and duly elected representatives inherently have in your state capitols and every state capitol in our nation, theletter reads, in part. As LGBTQ+ lawmakers, we refuse to be silenced.

Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr.

A sense of decorum was certainly not what defined the coming days as Zephyr attempted to legislate from outside the chamber. She chose a bench to work from and on Monday morning,three older white women, who told the press they were related to Montana legislators (one of whomallegedly is the mother of the House speaker who targeted Zooey and is part of aconservative political dynasty in the state), occupied the bench, laughing, meaning Zephyr couldnt sit there. Anda New York Timesstory out today says the speaker, Matt Regier, after winning the title in a private caucus vote last fall, asked other women legislators if they were afraid to share a bathroom with Zephyr.

In response,Montanans worked together to protect the bench for Zephyr. Zephyr challenged the censure in court with the help of the ACLUand on May 2, a judge rejected Zephyrs attempt to return to the floor. The legislative session is over, but the impact of the last few weeks isnt. On Tuesday, both Zephyr and her girlfriend werethe victims of SWATting attempts (currentlyalso plaguing schools and colleges). The nation has not turned away from Montana, focusing a level of scrutiny that Zephyr couldnt possibly have prepared for.

Zephyr spoke toTeen Vogueabout Republican censorship and the support she's received.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Teen Vogue: The eyes of the nation have been on you. Youve experienced widespread support and also threats and harassment. How are you feeling?

Zooey Zephyr: We saw how willing folks on the right were to toss away democracy in order to achieve their goals [by censuring me] and I think when that happened the eyes of the world turned toward Montana and said,That is wrong. That is wrong likeit was wrong in Tennessee, its wrong likeit was wrong in Oklahoma. That is wrong and it is not the way our country should be run. That goes against everything our country stands for.

At that moment, it feels like there is an opening in the machinery of politics where change becomes possible. I feel a sense of community and drive that feels unprecedented, and I am excited and determined to make sure that I can be there to help folks as we try to stand together and make this a place we could be proud of, this place being Montana, and the country, as well.

TV: I want to ask about what looked like a really celebratory moment: When you returned to your constituents in Missoula andthey celebrated your strength and bravery in a show of solidarity, last Friday.

ZZ:On that Friday when I went back to Missoula, people saw what I've been saying: that I represent my community. Those are the people who sent me here and they were the ones demanding that their voices be heard in the Capitol. When I went home, I was rooting myself back in the community that I love and that I'm a part of.

I was overwhelmed with joy and love in a way I did not anticipate because as you move through something like the anti-democratic cruelties of this legislative body, you move so quickly and you rarely get time to sit back, reflect, and process your emotions and what's going on. That is doubly true for me more than doubly true in a moment where there's so much press and so much heightened awareness around Montana.

So I was going from, Okay, what am I going to do here? Okay, I show up and there are people on the benches, how am I going to respond to that? This action took place and that action took place. How am I going to make sure I'm talking to my legislative colleagues when they're in the room and I can't go in that room? How do I get my constituents' voices represented? You just are going and you do not have time to sit and reflect and process your emotions. When I showed up, as I walked out to my community, the moment I grabbed the microphone, theystarted chanting, Let her speak. And I started crying because I knew I was back home.

Someone posted that she could never have imagined the moment that a trans woman would walk onto a stage in broad daylight in public, in front of smatterings of community members, and receive that kind of welcome. I don't remember exactly what they said, but I think what that moment shows is what trans people have been saying again and again.

The laws that these legislators are passing do not reflect the general community's understanding or care for trans people. These laws do drum up fear around trans people and there are real threats of harm to our community by individuals who use phrases like groomer or pedophile, buy into that damaging rhetoric, and target us. But, by and large, trans people are just part of our communities: friends, neighbors, colleagues. What I have said from the beginning is you're never far from someone who is trans or someone who loves someone who is trans. And in Montana that is true, whether you are in a coffee shop, in an office space, or in the governor's mansion.

TV: Quite literally. (Editor's note:David Gianforte, the child of Montana governor Greg Gianforte,asked their father not to pass anti-LGBTQ+ legislationlast week. Gianforte is nonbinary.)

ZZ:When you're in a moment like this, all I'm trying to do is rise to the next moment, bear witness to what happens, stand by your values, hold those in power accountable when they harm people, and meet each moment as it comes. And when you do that, especially in a moment like this, the days and the weeks blur together.

TV: On the other end of things, youve really experienced multiple levels of cruelty and harassment, from the high school antics of your colleagues wives and possibly mothers filling your seat outside the chamber, to being swatted.

ZZ:We see again how far people will go to achieve their very cruel ideological goals. We see the speaker silence me on the floor and in doing so take away representation from my 11,000 constituents. We see the speaker try to remove me from the public space that I was allowed in. And then when I was able to stay in that public space, we see other people sitting there and filling the bench, as they are allowed to do, as is their prerogative, obviously.

When I walked around the corner and there were people on the benches, I carried on. I went to the next available open space because that does not bother me. I'm not concerned. I came there to do the work. That's on that side of things.

The swatting attempts are an extension of that. Extremists on the far right, both politically and as individuals, will go to extreme lengths to try to ensure that trans people who, again, are just trying to live our lives in peace and experience the joy that we get when we are allowed to transition in that pursuit of happiness, they will go to extremes to try to silence us or harm us. But we will not be deterred is what I said and what I will say a thousand times.

TV: Do you have any final thoughts for those across the country watching whats happening to you and your community?

ZZ:What you saw here in Montana and what you saw in Tennessee is that political leaders are rising up and saying these policies get our community killed. They're not letting themselves get crushed by the political machinery. They're standing up in defense of their communities, calling out real harm, and holding the powerful accountable. And what we also see is that's what peoplewantfrom their political leaders. They want people who will stand for democracy. They want people who will hold the powerful accountable.

People say that was courageous of you, that was so brave of you. It should be easy to stand and do the right thing when you're standing on the side of what is just and morally right, when you're standing on the right side of history. When people look at this moment here in Montana and across the country, they see a glimpse of what my state, what our country, could be if we collectively have the courage to stand up for democracy, stand up for what is right and just.

Going forward, I hope if they do feel that glimpse, that drive, and want to help, that they turn toward their communities, toward the places they call home, and say, What room is my voice needed in? What room can I make a difference in? And I hope they go there and I hope they're invited in. Otherwise, I hope they find a way into those rooms, make their voices heard, and together, we're going to change the world.

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Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr on Republican Censorship and Her Next Move - Teen Vogue