Latest news with #MaineHumanRightsAct
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Cost of living dominates concerns for Maine voters, poll finds
According to a May 2025 survey of Mainers, 67% of respondents cited cost of living as their top concern. (Photo by Getty Images) A new statewide poll found that Maine voters are overwhelmingly worried about the cost of living — more than any other issue by a wide margin. According to the poll from Pan Atlantic Research, 67% of respondents cited cost of living as their top concern. Immigration was second, with 39% identifying that as one of the top issues Maine is facing, while 33% said housing and 31% said high taxes are their top issues of concern. The poll asked Mainers an array of questions about policy and included favorability ratings of Maine's congressional delegation, Gov. Janet Mills, President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. It was conducted May 12-26, surveying 929 adult Mainers (840 of whom are likely voters) and offers a snapshot of an electorate. Respondents were divided on whether the state is headed in the right direction, whether they approved of federal government oversight into Maine policies and the transgender athlete debate, which has put Maine in the national spotlight. Despite growing discontent over living costs, the state's top political figures maintain relatively strong approval ratings, with only President Donald Trump and billionaire advisor Elon Musk having more negative responses than positive. Independent Sen. Angus King leads with a +38% net favorability rating, and Rep. Chellie Pingree was popular in her district, with a 29% net positive rating. Mills fell slightly from a net favorability rating of +11% in September 2024 to +8%, while Sen. Susan Collins rose from +2% net favorability to +4%. Overall, Rep. Jared Golden was still favorable by a small margin, with 48% of 2nd Congressional District voters viewing him very or somewhat favorably, compared with 41% rating him as very or somewhat negatively. But Mainers largely disapproved of Trump, with a net rating of -9%, and Musk, who has said he's stepping back from his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency, had an approval rating of -19%. The poll asked respondents about Maine's inclusive transgender athlete policy, which allows students to play on teams aligning with their gender identity in adherence to the Maine Human Rights Act. The policy was the reason behind several federal agencies threatening the state with loss of federal funding, and is being challenged in courts by the U.S. Department of Justice. A majority of respondents (53%) said that they believe that Maine should comply with the federal demands to change its trans athlete policies to avoid losing federal education funding. Thirty-two percent of respondents said that Maine should not comply with federal demands, while 14% were undecided on this question. The responses roughly fell along political lines, with 82% of Republicans, 52% of independent voters and 32% of Democrats agreeing that Maine should comply with federal demands. Overall, a majority of Mainers did not think the federal government's involvement in Maine policy was beneficial, according to the poll results. Forty-nine percent of Republicans, 20% of independents, and 17% of Democrats said that federal government involvement is 'generally beneficial.' The poll also asked respondents to weigh in on candidates for next year's gubernatorial election, for both rumored and confirmed candidates. Among likely Democratic voters, businessman Angus King III, son of the independent U.S. senator, led the field, with 33% of voters saying they would 'likely support' him, and 47% said they would consider supporting him. Twenty-four percent said they would likely support Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and another 50% said they would consider it. Twenty percent also said they would support former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives Hannah Pingree, with another 39% saying they would consider supporting the congresswoman's daughter, though she has yet to officially announce a run. Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, who recently joined the race, came in fourth among the potential Democratic candidates, with 31% of respondents saying they would either likely or consider voting for him. State Rep. Laurel Libby (R-Auburn), who also has not officially joined the race, led the Republicans, with 27% saying they would likely support her and 28% saying they would consider it. Former U.S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin polled similarly, with 23% percent of respondents saying they were likely to vote for him and 36% saying they would consider it. Businessman and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Shawn Moody was a close third, with 21% and 34% respectively saying they would likely vote for him, or consider it. The only official Republican candidate included in the survey is Bangor resident Bobby Charles, who previously worked in the federal government during the George W. Bush administration. Forty percent of likely Republican voters said they would likely or consider supporting Charles. Republicans and independents were more skeptical compared with Democrats about the direction the state is headed in. Overall, 39% of respondents said the state is headed in the right direction, while 41% feel it's on the wrong track, and 20% remain unsure. That is a significant drop compared with 2022, when 47% of respondents thought the state was headed in the right direction, according to the poll results. The division is more pronounced along political lines, with 66% of Democrats expressing optimism, contrasted with only 25% of independents and 20% of Republicans sharing that view. Forty-five percent of residents in the more liberal 1st Congressional District feel positive about the state's direction, compared to 35% in CD2. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Republican state senator enters race for governor
The Blaine House, residence of Maine's governor, in Augusta. Sept. 5, 2023. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) State Sen. James Libby is running in the 2026 gubernatorial race. Libby, who represents parts of Cumberland, Oxford and York counties, is one of five Republican candidates contending for the Blaine House, according to filings with the Maine Ethics Commission. The race is already starting to get crowded, with the Democratic ticket drawing notable names including Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who announced her bid in late March, as well as Angus King III, the son of independent U.S. senator and former governor Angus King Jr., who announced his run earlier this month. And Libby won't be the only candidate with recent experience in the Maine Legislature's upper chamber. Former Senate President Troy Jackson announced his run for the Democratic primary earlier this week. The other Republicans currently running are Kenneth Capron of Portland, Bangor resident Bobby Charles, who previously worked in the federal government during the George W. Bush administration, and Navy veteran Steven Christopher Sheppard, also of Bangor. Unenrolled candidate Alexander Kenneth Murchison of Dover Foxcroft is also running. Libby is in the middle of his second consecutive term in the Senate, but he has also spent time as a state representative after being first elected to the Legislature in 1992. He also ran in the 2002 Republican gubernatorial primary. Among the bills Libby introduced this legislative session are measures to add political affiliation as a protected class under the Maine Human Rights Act and reinstate the failed Property Tax Stabilization Program. Libby, who is also a professor at Thomas College, serves on the Legislature's Education and Cultural Affairs Committee. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lawmakers deadlock on bills prohibiting transgender athletes in girls sports
May 20—AUGUSTA — Lawmakers deadlocked in votes on bills seeking to prohibit transgender athletes from competing in girls sports during a committee meeting Tuesday night, setting up what is likely to be an intense debate as the bills now move to the full Legislature. The Judiciary Committee voted 6-6 on two bills that would cut state funding to schools that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls sports, with one Democrat, Rep. Dani O'Halloran of Brewer, joining Republicans in support of the bills. A third bill that would require sports teams to be either male, female or coed and that would prohibit transgender athletes in girls sports was defeated 5-7. Republicans were in support and Democrats opposed, though O'Halloran said she would support the bill with an amendment and registered an "ought to pass as amended" report on the bill. At the same time, the committee voted overwhelmingly against a bill that would remove consideration of gender identity from the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on gender identity. State officials cite the law as the reason transgender athletes are allowed to compete in girls sports. And they voted against bills that would have eroded transgender rights for students more broadly by restricting which bathrooms they can use and requiring schools to identify students by the name and gender listed on their birth certificates. The bills were among the most contentious of the legislative session and come as the Trump administration is suing Maine because it allows transgender athletes to compete in girls sports. The administration has also threatened to pull federal funding, saying that Maine is violating the federal antidiscrimination law known as Title IX. State officials have countered that they would be violating the Maine Human Rights Act by not allowing transgender athletes to compete in a way that affirms their identity and that President Donald Trump's executive order banning transgender athletes from girls sports is not legal. Democrats who voted against the bills focused on transgender athletes said Tuesday that the legislation would be harmful to students, difficult to enforce and expressed concerns that the proposal for schools to have coed teams is not realistic. Republicans said the bills protect girls sports and private places. "I think (these bills) are very harmful for girls," said Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, co-chair of the committee. "I think they are harmful for students who are transgender and nonbinary, and I think they're harmful for the school community because when adults authorize targeting of kids, it makes it unsafe for everybody and erodes everyone's sense of belonging, especially during a time of development when kids are really vulnerable." Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, who also chairs the committee, recalled her daughters' experience signing up for middle school lacrosse and then finding out that their school didn't have enough money for a coach. "When there is no money, the school will not have a team, and that's my concern about the suggestion there could be coed teams," Carney said. Rep. Jennifer Poirier, R-Skowhegan, countered that some schools have worked around those kinds of concerns by partnering with surrounding districts, saying some schools in her area recently partnered to put together enough students to form a hockey team when they couldn't field teams individually. "There are some work-arounds schools can do to make these things happen," Poirier said. CONCERNS ABOUT ENFORCEMENT Rep. Ellie Sato, D-Gorham, also raised concerns about how schools would enforce laws around transgender athletes, saying that girls are already subject to pressure about looking and acting a certain way. "I'm very concerned that for girls who do not present feminine attributes, whether they're cis or trans, will be targeted regardless because they don't fit into the model of what we're told a girl should look like," Sato said. Rep. Liz Caruso, R-Caratunk, sponsored LD 868, the bill requiring sports teams to be either male, female or coed and prohibiting transgender athletes in girls' sports. The bill also would require schools to designate restrooms and changing rooms for use by males or females only, based on sex assigned at birth. "The legislation does treat everyone the same and gives everyone the option of a biological sex or coed team," Caruso said. "I think it will provide opportunities for all students to have more options." Caruso said her bill does not aim to subject girls to greater scrutiny about their bodies and said that a student's birth sex would be determined by a physician who has to fill out a sports medical form. "No one's inspecting someone's body. ... We don't want students to go through that," she said. O'Halloran was the only Democrat on the committee who voted for LD 233 and LD 1134, two bills that would prohibit schools that receive state funding from allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls sports, and said she would have supported Caruso's bill if it were amended to strike language allowing for legal remedies against schools for violating the provisions of the bill. "I look at what's going on around how we have transgender girls on girls teams and girls on girls teams. ... I'm wondering, 'Where does that leave girls?'" O'Halloran said during committee discussion. "I feel terrible about all of this, as I'm sure all of us do, and my heart goes out to everybody." The committee also voted 11-2 to reject the change to the Maine Human Rights Act after the bill's sponsor, Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, told the committee that he sought to change the law's definition of sexual orientation to include gender identity, in keeping with previous iterations of the law, rather than keep the current separate provisions for gender identity, and lawmakers questioned what the purpose of the change would be. An attorney for the Maine Human Rights Commission told the committee that the change would likely result in confusion for individuals and businesses about what is and isn't protected under the law. "I don't think the amendment changes any coverage, it just rearranges language back to the way it was before we tried to clarify things in 2019," said Barbara Archer Hirsch. "I think that going back and forth would create a lot of confusion and you would be getting more and more calls from folks not knowing what's covered and what is not." Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Emotional debate on transgender rights, girls sports draws hundreds to Maine State House
May 8—AUGUSTA — The debate over transgender athletes competing in girls sports drew hundreds to the Maine State House Thursday for a daylong series of public hearings on proposals to restrict participation and roll back gender identity protections in the state's antidiscrimination law. Bills taken up by the Judiciary Committee would cut state funding to schools that allow transgender athletes to participate in girls sports, require sports teams to be either male, female or coed, and prevent schools from allowing students to use restrooms that don't correspond with the sex they were assigned at birth. One bill would revise the Maine Human Rights Act to remove parts of the law that prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. School districts and the governing body of high school sports in Maine cite the law as why they allow students to participate in sports in a way that affirms their identity. The hearings come after the Trump administration sued Maine last month for allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls sports, saying it violates a federal law protecting women from discrimination in education. The administration also has moved to cut off federal funding to the state until it bans trans athletes, although the state has so far fended off any cuts in court. Two transgender athletes in Maine have attracted scrutiny amidst the national attention, although it's unknown how many trans students are participating statewide. Soren Stark-Chessa, a high school junior from Falmouth, spoke about her experience as a transgender cross-country and track athlete while testifying against the bills Thursday. "When I realized I was trans and started running on the girls team, my perspective underwent a huge shift," Stark-Chessa said. "Now, I wasn't just competing as a way to manage stress. I was being open about who I was and I was able to form connections and bonds through this wonderful activity." "In short, my world went from black and white to vibrant color when I was able to exist as my true self," she added. The Maine Principals' Association, the nonprofit that oversees high school athletic competitions in Maine, also weighed in on the bills Thursday, testifying neither for not against them. The MPA adopted the policy allowing trans athletes, which state officials say is consistent with the state's antidiscrimination law. Jared Bornstein, a representative of the MPA, said the group will follow whatever laws the state or federal government establish. But he also asked the committee to make the law "fully one or the other and avoid the middle ground," such as by allowing the MPA to decide transgender athlete participation on a case-by-case basis. "It would be our preference to have either fully allowing or fully disallowing," Bornstein said. BILL SUPPORTERS: IT'S ABOUT FAIRNESS The bills heard Thursday were submitted prior to the Trump administration's lawsuit, although the national attention has intensified debate at the State House. All of the proposals are from Republican lawmakers. Rep. Elizabeth Caruso, R-Caratunk, said Thursday that her bill, LD 868, requiring school sports teams to be designated as male, female or coed, and prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in girls' sports, would bring Maine into compliance with Trump's executive order on the issue and prevent a loss of federal funding. Caruso's bill also would require schools to designate restrooms and changing rooms for use by males or females only, based on sex assigned at birth. "The heart behind this bill is to provide safety, fairness, privacy and a fair playing field where all students have the opportunity to participate in sports," Caruso said. She said the bill isn't about discriminating against transgender students. "Every athlete can still play and use private spaces," she said. "But we have to have parameters for what that is. Every athlete will have a choice of two teams to play on: the team of their biological sex or a co-ed or mixed team." Two other bills also heard Thursday, LD 1134 and LD 233, would prohibit schools that receive state funding from allowing transgender athletes to participate in girls' sports. Supporters of the bills argue that transgender girls have physical advantages and that allowing them to participate in girls' sports puts other girls at a disadvantage, causing them to lose first-place medals and podium spots, and potentially get overlooked by college coaches. Bianca Wright, a 17-year-old student from Benton, told the committee that her girls basketball team played a game last winter against a co-ed team that was mostly boys. The girls felt uncomfortable and one girl ended up sitting out the game after she was elbowed in the face, Wright said. They also lost. "The reason I tell you this is to give you an example of what it would look like if men continue to play against women," Wright said. "I feel men should not be able to compete in women's sports for many reasons. They are physically built differently, they play more aggressively. ... For all the girls who worked hard all year, it's disappointing to lose to a biological male." OPPONENTS: 'TRANS KIDS JUST WANT TO BE ACCEPTED' Opponents — and some lawmakers — raised questions about how schools would enforce policies prohibiting transgender athletes from participating. Opponents also said the bills seek to address something that isn't really a problem while also perpetuating harmful narratives about transgender people. "These proposals target transgender students — a small, vulnerable group of young people who already face significantly higher rates of bullying, homelessness and suicide," said Beth Lambert, a parent from Fairfield who has also worked as a teacher and school administrator. She questioned how schools would figure out which students are transgender. "Will there be forms to fill out?" Lambert asked. "Investigations to open? If a student is accused of being trans, who is responsible for verifying that? Will teachers or administrators be expected to examine birth certificates — or worse, body parts?" Stark-Chessa was joined Thursday by her brother and mother, who also testified against the bills. Susan Stark said she is an educator who has had transgender students in her classroom before, though she didn't really understand what it meant to be transgender until her youngest child came out as trans. When that happened, she said her family was mostly met with acceptance and love, though they did encounter some negativity. "I suspect this negativity came from a place of not understanding what it means to be trans," Stark said. "Trans kids just want to be accepted as the gender they are. Acknowledging this certainly benefits trans people, but in fact it benefits all of us to know we will be accepted as we are." Felix Markosian, a senior at Ellsworth High School, told the committee that he received worried messages from trans friends earlier this week saying they didn't know what they would do if the bills pass. "Even these bills just being presented affects these kids so much," Markosian said outside the hearing. "Even the thought of this becoming law and being the future is really scary and puts a lot of distress on these people. It's not fair they have to go through that when every other kid in school doesn't." Spokespeople for Gov. Janet Mills did not respond Thursday afternoon to questions about whether the governor has taken a position on any of the bills. Attorney General Aaron Frey submitted testimony against the bills concerning transgender students in sports, as well as the bill expected to be heard later Thursday about removing gender identity from the Maine Human Rights Act. HOW WOULD LAWS BE ENFORCED? Some lawmakers on the Judiciary Committee also questioned how the bills presented Thursday would be enforced. The chairs of the committee, Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth, and Rep. Amy Kuhn, D-Falmouth, both asked how schools would verify that a student is transgender. Caruso said that students who play school sports already have to have doctor's physicals, and that doctors could verify a student's birth sex during the physical. "What if the physician feels it's their ethical duty to affirm the student's identity and that is what is sent to the school?" Kuhn asked. "Would there be consequences for the physician? And when the form is submitted to the school, is that the end of it? What if the school or community have questions. Is there further investigation?" "My understanding is the definition for sex has to do with their reproductive system, so the doctor I think has a duty to put on the form what they were born with," Caruso said. "It's sex, not gender, on the form. I think that makes it clear." She also noted that other states have adopted policies prohibiting transgender athletes in youth sports. Nationwide, 26 states ban transgender youth from participating in school sports consistent with their gender identity, according to the Movement Advancement Project, a nonprofit that tracks gender equality issues nationwide. Copy the Story Link
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Maine Department of Education denies accusations in DOJ lawsuit
May 8—The Maine Department of Education is broadly denying claims made by the Department of Justice that the state is violating Title IX by allowing transgender women to compete in women's sports. The state's response to the federal lawsuit, filed Wednesday, notes the introduction of the DOJ's initial complaint references a now-viral exchange between President Donald Trump and Gov. Janet Mills, in which she told him "See you in court." But, the state adds, that came after "the president incorrectly asserted that '(w)e are the federal law' and 'you're not going to get any federal funding at all if you don't (treat an Executive Order as the law).' " The Education Department denied every other claim made in the introduction, and almost every argument that followed. The Justice Department argued in its complaint that Title IX, a landmark civil rights law, is designed to ensure "both sexes have an 'equal athletic opportunity,'" and that Maine laws undermine that opportunity. But while Maine acknowledges that the federal government accurately quoted the language of Title IX's commitment to "equal athletic opportunity," it argues that the Justice Department mischaracterized the meaning of the law. The federal government brought its lawsuit last month, seeking an injunction to prevent transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's sports, and it also demands that titles and medals be awarded to competitors who lost to trans athletes. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the lawsuit at a mid-April press conference, flanked by Maine Rep. Laurel Libby and former competitive swimmer Riley Gaines, who began her activism after tying for fifth place with a trans swimmer during a college competition. The suit followed a series of executive orders by Trump, in which he proclaimed there to be only two genders and then barred transgender athletes from girls' and women's competition. Maine's Education Department also acknowledges these orders in its response, but pushes back against the Justice Department's claim that they "confirmed the definition of the term 'sex' for Title IX." Maine has had protections for gender identity enshrined in state law for about two decades. In 2005, voters approved a bill that would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation under the Maine Human Rights Act, using a definition that explicitly included "gender identity or expression." Lawmakers later revised the law to more specifically define and protect gender identity. The Office of the Maine Attorney General, which is handling the Department of Education's legal defense, declined to comment. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on the state's filing. This story will be updated as more information is available. Copy the Story Link We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others. We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion. You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs. Show less
