The Supreme Court has ordered Maine's Democratic legislature to restore the voting rights of a Republican member who was punished for defending girls' sports.
Republican state legislator Laurel Libby was barred from speaking or voting on the House floor over a viral Facebook post.
"This is a victory not just for my constituents, but for the Constitution itself. The Supreme Court has affirmed what should never have been in question — that no state legislature has the power to silence an elected official simply for speaking truthfully about issues that matter," Libby said in a statement.
"This decision restores the voice of 9,000 Mainers who were wrongly silenced. I am grateful for the Court’s action, and I am ready to get back to work representing the people of House District 90."
The Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling came with no explanation, which is typical when the court rules on emergencies. Sonia Sotomayor would have denied the application for relief, and Ketanji Brown Jackson authored a brief dissent.
Jackson argued that the case does not qualify as a true emergency, but she acknowledged that it "raises many difficult questions" that could be resolved in Libby's favor eventually.
Two lower courts had ruled against Libby before she went to the Supreme Court and asked the justices to let her participate in the current legislative session, which ends in June. The Supreme Court's ruling allows her to vote again while a legal battle continues in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
The controversy arose in February after Libby, a mom of five kids including three girls, shared a Facebook message criticizing the inclusion of males in girls' sports. The post included the name and photo of a male student who won a girls' high school pole vault competition.
Democrats accused Libby of endangering the student to advance an agenda, and she was censured for conduct "reprehensible and in direct violation of our code of ethics." Libby was blocked from voting until she apologized.
Libby then sued Democratic House Speaker Ryan Fecteau to restore her voting rights, saying the legislature had disenfranchised her 9,000 constituents by preventing her from speaking on a matter of public concern. She said the male student's name and face had already been widely publicized, and Democrats were retaliating against her for advocating on behalf of girls in the state.
Maine's stubborn transgender advocacy has led to clashes between Governor Janet Mills (D) and President Trump, who confronted Mills during a meeting of governors at the White House earlier this year. Trump's administration has sued Maine for violating Title IX, a civil rights law that bars sex-based discrimination.
The transgender issue has been cited as an example of cultural overreach by Democrats, who have struggled to find their footing since Trump's stunning re-election last year.
Indeed, some Democrats have begun to distance themselves from a cause that is now widely seen as detrimental to the party.
Rather than have an open debate, Democrats in Maine are clinging to their dogmas and silencing dissent - or at least trying to, anyway.
