During the First Session of the 132nd Maine Legislature, eight bills that targeted transgender student athletes, the transgender community and the Maine Human Rights Act were ultimately rejected.
In response to the potential passage of this legislation, a coalition of LGBTQ+ nonprofits worked together to voice opposition; these groups included EqualityMaine, MaineTransNet, OUT Maine, Portland Outright, GLAD Law, the ACLU of Maine, Mabel Wadsworth Center, Maine Women’s Lobby and the Maine Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Numerous other organizations and everyday Mainers of all ages and backgrounds joined in the fight to defend LGBTQ+ rights.
“Thousands of Maine people showed up at the State House, called and emailed their legislators and stood strong against eight different bills that targeted our community,” said Gia Drew, executive director of EqualityMaine. “We are grateful to the members of the Maine Legislature who listened and helped to defeat these harmful bills. Our community is resilient, and we want every transgender person in Maine to know that they are loved, that they are not alone, and that we will stand with them.”
As part of this effort, more than 900 Maine people testified against efforts to deny transgender students access to health care and ban them from participating in school sports during a public hearing in back in May. The hearing drew an extraordinary cross-section from the state—parents, educators, fellow students, current and former athletes, faith leaders and more—all united in defense of dignity, fairness and inclusion. Their testimony reflected a clear consensus: these attacks do not reflect Maine values and have no place in our laws.
EqualityMaine weighed in on 77 bills during the First Session, advocating for indigenous rights, reproductive justice, gun safety, harm reduction, justice system reform, HIV prevention, Paid Family Medical Leave, inclusive curriculum, access to health care and more.
As efforts to roll back protections or target vulnerable communities continue to surface across the country, EqualityMaine and its partners are prepared to respond to future threats to equality and human rights and to continue to defend Maine’s values of compassion, courage and humanity.
— from an EqualityMaine press release by Jessi Holleran
More: equalitymaine.org
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