Here are some representatives unafraid of standing up to right-wing media’s anti-trans hatred

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes highlights the “incredible shining example” of elected officials challenging anti-trans narratives

Written by Media Matters Staff

Published

Amid a wave of policies targeting transgender rights at the state and federal level, elected representatives are pushing back against anti-trans narratives that have been spread by right-wing media. 

  • On March 11, Reps. Bill Keating (D-MA) and Sarah McBride (D-DE) challenged Rep. Keith Self's (R-TX) effort to misgender her during a congressional committee meeting. Intentionally referring to trans people with terms that do not reflect their lived gender is a common practice in right-wing media. 
  • On March 6, Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D) pushed back against the claim that “transgenderism is a fetish based on crossdressing.” Right-wing media figures have long claimed that trans identity is a fetish and that drag performance poses a danger to children. 
  • That same day, Montana state Rep. Sherry Essmann (R) protested the introduction of anti-LGBTQ bills in the legislature, calling them a “waste of time.” Right-wing media figures have often urged such measures. 
  • Also on March 6, Montana state Rep. SJ Howell (D) pushed back against the claim that affirming parents are abusive to their trans children. Right-wing media figures have often compared gender-affirming care to child abuse. 

On MSNBC’s March 12 episode of All In, host Chris Hayes covered these representatives fighting back against the right’s anti-trans narratives, calling them “an incredible shining example” and saying that “people can be persuaded away from cruelty and viciousness.”

From the March 12, 2025, edition of MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes 

CHRIS HAYES (HOST): Right now, Republicans are waging a campaign of persecution and discrimination against trans people at basically every policy level across this country. On Capitol Hill, Republicans are openly attacking the first openly trans member of Congress, Democrat Sarah McBride from Delaware, who we had the pleasure of having on the show. On Tuesday, Republican Congressman Keith Self of Texas repeatedly misgendered Congresswoman McBride during a hearing. They think this is, like, funny or cool or makes them look tough or something. And her colleague, Democrat Bill Keating of Massachusetts, modeled what it means to stand up for your colleagues.

(VIDEO BEGINS) 

KEITH SELF: I now recognize the representative from Delaware, Mr. McBride.

SARAH MCBRIDE: Thank you, madam chair.

…

BILL KEATING: Would you repeat what you just said when you introduced a duly elected representative from the United States of America? Please? 

SELF: I will. The representative from Delaware, Mr. McBride.

KEATING: Mr. Chairman, you are out of order. Mr. Chairman, have you no decency? I mean, I have come to know you a little bit, but this is not decent. 

SELF: We will continue this —

KEATING: You will not continue it with me unless you introduce a duly elected representative the right way!

SELF: This hearing is adjourned.

(VIDEO ENDS)

HAYES: Lest you be left hopeless by that genuinely enraging exchange, we saw something close to the polar opposite unfold in the Montana Statehouse last Thursday. So, Republicans there hold a near two-thirds majority in the chamber. Last week, they considered two anti-LGBTQ bills. The first was a bill which sought to ban drag performances, almost certainly unconstitutional. The second was a draconian bill which sought to remove trans kids from their parents, OK? Democrats said, “We're not going down without a fight.” You see, Montana has two trans or nonbinary Democrats elected to their state legislature, and both of them delivered earnest, heartfelt speeches about why these bills should not become law. Rep. Zooey Zephyr, who is trans, spoke out against the drag ban.

(VIDEO BEGINS) 

ZOOEY ZEPHYR: In committee, when the sponsor closed on this bill, he said this bill is needed — he said, and I quote his words, “because transgenderism is a fetish based on crossdressing.” Those were his words for why this bill is necessary. And I'm here to stand before the body and say that my life is not a fetish. My existence is not a fetish. I was proud, less than a month ago, to have my son up in the gallery here. Many of you on the other side met him. When I go to walk him to school, that is not a lascivious display. That is not a fetish. That is my family.

(VIDEO ENDS)

HAYES: After Rep. Zephyr spoke, a Republican representative, Sherry Essmann, also took to the floor against the bill.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

SHERRY ESSMANN: Trust the parents to do what's right and stop these crazy bills. They are a waste of time. They're a waste of energy. We should be working on property tax relief and not doing this sort of business on the floor of this House, and having to even talk about this.

(VIDEO ENDS)

HAYES: Following those speeches, 13 Republicans flipped their votes against the drag ban, and it was then defeated 15 to 44. It went down. That same day, Rep. SJ Howell, who is nonbinary, delivered a speech of their own on the bill that would seek to take trans kids away from their parents.

(VIDEO BEGINS)

SJ HOWELL: Put yourself in the shoes of a CPS worker who's confronted with a young person, 15 years old maybe, who is happy, healthy, living in a stable home with loving parents, who is supported and has their needs met. And they are supposed to remove that child from that home and put them into the care of the state? We should absolutely not be doing this.

(VIDEO ENDS)

HAYES: And guess what? Following that speech, 29 Republicans flipped their votes and that bill was defeated overwhelmingly, 71 to 27. It is really easy these days to lose hope in just the basic mechanics of democracy. But here's an incredible shining example that shows it is not all for naught. People can be persuaded away from cruelty and viciousness, and there is some hope on the other side.