By Amy Beth Hanson and Matthew Brown | Associated Press
HELENA, Mont. — Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender Montana lawmaker silenced after telling Republicans they would have blood on their hands for opposing gender-affirming health care for kids, was barred from returning to the statehouse House floor in a Tuesday court ruling that came just hours before the Legislature planned to wrap up its biennial session.
District Court Judge Mike Menahan said it was outside his authority to overrule lawmakers and return Zephyr to the House floor. He cited the importance of preserving the Constitution’s separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches.
“Plaintiffs’ requested relief would require this Court to interfere with legislative authority in a manner that exceeds this Court’s authority,” Menahan wrote in his ruling.
Attorneys for the state of Montana had asked the judge to reject an emergency motion from Zephyr’s lawyers challenging her ouster. The first-term lawmaker was silenced two weeks ago for admonishing Republican lawmakers, then banished from the floor last week for encouraging a raucous statehouse protest.
Zephyr told The Associated Press that Menahan’s decision was “entirely wrong.”
“It’s a really sad day for the country when the majority party can silence representation from the minority party whenever they take issue,” Zephyr said.
An attorney for Zephyr, Alex Rate, said an appeal was being considered. But with the 2023 legislative session ending, a ruling in coming days would be of little immediate consequence.
The punishment against Zephyr was through the end of the 2023 session. Since Montana’s Legislature convenes every two years, Zephy would have to be re-elected in 2024 before she could return to the House floor in two years.
Lawyers working under Attorney General Austin Knudsen had cautioned that any intervention by the courts on Zephyr’s behalf would be a blatant violation of the…
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