In a decision issued on Tuesday, hours earlier than the Legislature’s biennial session ended, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the transgender state legislator who threatened Republicans with having blood on the hands if they opposed sexual identity-affirming medical coverage for children, was forbidden from going back to the Montana House floor.
Judge Mike Menahan of the District Court declared that it was not within his jurisdiction to overturn a vote made last week by members of the House to keep Zephyr off the House floor and outside of discussions. He highlighted the significance of maintaining the Constitution’s three-branch system of checks and balances.
Menahan said in his decision that the plaintiffs’ claimed relief “could compel this Court to get involved with the legislative power in an approach that surpasses this Court’s authority.”
The choice to dissolve and issue a ruling put an unexpected end to the political difficulties that consumed the final few days of the Legislature and brought attention to transgender problems and the reduction of opposition in statehouses throughout the country.