Transgender Lawmaker Zooey Zephyr Faces Uphill Battle in Montana House

A judge has ruled that Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr, who was silenced and banished from the statehouse House floor for admonishing Republican lawmakers and encouraging a raucous statehouse protest, cannot return to the floor and participate in debate. The judge cited the importance of preserving the Constitution’s separation of powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. Zephyr and fellow Democrats have denounced her exclusion from floor debates as an assault on free speech that’s intended to silence her criticism of new restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors.