Supreme Court orders Maine House to restore vote of GOP lawmaker who ID-ed trans teen athlete online
Quotes
Thankfully the Supreme Court saw the merits and the high stakes with this case, and really what was on the line not just for just me, my constituents in Maine, but really the entire country if this was upheld… No one should ever be silenced for speaking up on behalf of our girls,
Libby said
Ryan Fecteau and Janet Mills have been ruling our state for the last six years with an iron fist regardless of the will of Maine people,
Libby saidIn accordance with the Supreme Court’s injunction pending appeal, Representative Libby’s ability to vote on the floor of the House has been restored until the current appeal process runs its course,
Fecteau told Fox News DigitalI am so thankful for Attorney General Pam Bondi's response,
Libby saidI most certainly do believe this is a civil rights issue for Maine girls and girls across the country who are being sidelines by biological males,
Libby said, later adding
At the very least, by lowering the bar for granting emergency relief, the Court itself will bear responsibility for the resulting systemic disruption, as a surge in requests for our 'extraordinary; intervention—at earlier and earlier stages of ongoing lower court proceedings, and with greater and greater frequency—will undoubtedly follow."
Justice Katanji Brown Jackson said in her dissent
The Speaker declared Libby was barred from speaking or voting until she recants her view. This means her thousands of constituents in Maine. House District 90 are now without a voice or vote for every bill coming to the House floor for the rest of her elected term, which runs through 2026. They are disenfranchised."
Laurel Libby and supporters in the emergency application for injunction pending appealIn my view, these applicants have not met this high bar,
Jackson explained in her opinionThe watering down of our Court's standards for granting emergency relief is, to me, an unfortunate development, ... After all, the manner in which we handle emergency applications—'on a short fuse without benefit of full briefing and oral argument,' is hardly a model for sound decision making."
Jackson wrote, addingThe applicants have not asserted that there are any significant legislative votes scheduled in the upcoming weeks; that there are any upcoming votes in which Libby's participation would impact the outcome; or that they will otherwise suffer any concrete, imminent, and significant harm while the lower court considers this matter,
she continuedWhy would any applicant who thinks the lower courts are mistaken wait for those courts’ final word on an issue if real-time error correction via our emergency docket is readily available?”
Jackson posited
President Trump, before he was elected, this has been a huge issue for him,
Bondi saidThis 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
The Department of Justice is proud to fight for girls in Maine and stand alongside Rep. Libby, who is being attacked simply for defending girls in her home state. As our lawsuit against the state of Maine illustrates, we will always protect girls’ sports and girls’ spaces from radical gender ideology,
Bondi told Fox News DigitalThe Maine House Speaker silenced Rep. Laurel Libby for refusing to apologize over her stance against male athletes in girls’ sports. This isn’t leadership, it’s unconstitutional. The Civil Rights Division stands ready to defend the rule of law,
Dhillon told Fox News DigitalStripping District 90’s voters of their house representation and vote because their chosen representative will not apologize for fulfilling this obligation is well beyond the bounds of an appropriate sanction,
the document readLike other censures of Maine House members, the censure resolution required Rep. Libby to apologize for her conduct—not recant her views. Rep. Libby has steadfastly refused to comply with this modest punishment, which is designed to restore the integrity and reputation of the body,
the response read