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Maine Senate rejects bill to prohibit transgender athletes in girls sports
Jun. 12—AUGUSTA — Lawmakers in the Maine Senate rejected a bill Thursday that would prohibit transgender athletes from competing in girls sports in schools that receive state funding.
The bill, LD 1134, is the first among a handful of proposals aimed at stopping transgender athletes from participating in girls sports to come to a floor vote in the Legislature this session. It was rejected 21-14 with Sen. Rick Bennett, R-Oxford, voting with Democrats against the bill.
The measure will now be considered in the House of Representatives, though the Senate's opposition is an indicator that the bill likely won't get final passage.
Tensions around the issue of transgender athletes in girls sports have mounted in Maine over the last few months after Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, posted about the issue on Facebook in February and the Trump administration then accused Maine of violating federal anti-discrimination law by allowing transgender girls to participate in girls high school sports.
Conflict with the administration — which is suing Maine over its policy — has added to support and opposition for the bills, which last month drew hundreds of people to the State House for a daylong public hearing.
Republicans argued Thursday that transgender athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls sports because of biological differences that give them advantages and because they can end up taking victories and podium spots from girls assigned female at birth.
Democrats said the bill would discriminate against transgender students and make them feel like they don't belong. They also cited court precedent and the Maine Human Rights Act in arguing that transgender students should be able to compete in a way that affirms their gender identity.
Sen. Sue Bernard, R-Caribou, the bill's sponsor, said her intent was not to disrespect transgender people by introducing the bill. "I'm merely recognizing the biological strengths and differences that exist," Bernard said.
"I put forward this commonsense bill not to hurt anyone — and for anyone to think I could have a bad bone in my body against any child ... that is not it at all," she added. "I want to carve out a space — one space — where girls can have an actual chance to be winners. If we continue with this I'm afraid that's going to disappear."
Sen. Stacey Guerin, R-Glenburn, talked about how she used to be able to easily keep up with and even help her five sons with athletic activities like backpacking and bicycling. But once their teenage hormones kicked in, Guerin said it became clear to her the physical advantages that boys have.
"When I look at boys competing against girls in girls sports, I am astounded at what is clearly a genetic disadvantage for the girls," Guerin said. "I see this bill as a way of righting that wrong."
Democrats opposed to the bill said they could not support it because it would have the effect of making transgender students feel like they don't belong.
Sen. Stacy Brenner, D-Scarborough, said that prohibiting transgender girls in girls sports would also be harmful to all girls, because such rules could lead to greater criticism and scrutiny of girls' bodies.
"The effects would stretch far beyond just the young athletes this bill seeks to exclude," Brenner said. "Imagine us putting our children in a position where they're constantly questioning if they're feminine enough, if their hair is long enough and if their height is average enough to avoid suspicion that they're violating the law when they're participating in everyday activities like playing soccer or using the bathroom."
Democrats also pointed to the Maine Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in school activities based on gender identity, and legal precedent in arguing against prohibiting transgender students from participating in girls sports or using facilities designated for girls.
The inclusion of gender identity in the Maine Human Rights Act was the basis of a landmark 2014 Maine Supreme Judicial Court decision on bathroom access in which the court ruled that the town of Orono discriminated against Nicole Maines, a transgender student, by prohibiting her from using the female restroom.
LD 1134 would prohibit schools that receive state funding from allowing transgender students to use facilities like bathrooms and locker rooms that have been designated for female-only use, in addition to prohibiting them from participating in girls sports.
"Maine's highest court firmly ruled that denying a student access to the restroom consistent with her identity was a violation of the Maine Human Rights Act," said Sen. Anne Carney, D-Cape Elizabeth. "Numerous cases around the country have held that schools may not deny a transgender student access to the bathroom."
Carney also cited a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ruled against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, saying it offered evidence that excluding transgender students from sports would also likely be found in violation of federal law.
"As Mainers, we all strive to recognize the dignity and rights of our neighbors, regardless of whether we agree with them or understand them," she said. "This legislation would be a departure from that commitment."
AT ODDS WITH WHITE HOUSE
Maine is in the Trump administration's crosshairs because the state allows transgender athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identity — a stand state officials say is consistent with Title IX, which grants equal opportunity to females in education and sports, and with the Maine Human Rights Act.
That dynamic led to a high-profile confrontation between Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump at the White House in February, efforts by the Trump administration to cut Maine's federal funding, the censure of Libby for her Facebook post identifying a transgender high school athlete and a hotly contested debate in the State House, where Republicans have offered a slate of bills to restrict participation by transgender athletes and students.
Maine is one of 22 states that explicitly prohibits discrimination based on gender identity and one of 23 states that has laws or policies allowing transgender athletes to participate in sports consistent with their gender identities, according to the Movement Advancement Project. Twenty-five states have laws preventing transgender participation in sports consistent with their gender identities, while two others have policies for the same.
Over the next week, Maine lawmakers are also expected to debate LD 233, which also would prohibit any school or school district that receives state funding from allowing transgender girls to participate in girls sports, and LD 868, which would require sports to be designated male, female or coed and would require students to use restrooms and changing rooms consistent with their gender assigned at birth.
Lawmakers will also take up LD 1432, which was written to remove gender identity from the Maine Human Rights Act, though the bill's sponsor, Rep. Mike Soboleski, R-Phillips, later said that he instead wanted 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.
That bill was defeated 11-2 in the Judiciary Committee by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, while the other three bills were all voted out of committee 6-6 with Rep. Dani O'Halloran, D-Brewer, joining Republicans in support.
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