Transgender lawmaker Zooey Zephyr's return to Montana House denied by judge.

A judge has rejected the attempt by Montana lawmaker Zooey Zephyr, who is transgender, to return to the statehouse House floor and participate in debate after being silenced and banished for admonishing Republican lawmakers and encouraging a raucous statehouse protest. The judge ruled that it was outside his authority to overrule the Legislature and return Zephyr to the House floor. 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.