Democrats in Maine have quietly reintroduced into a different committee the same pro-transgender bill that was unanimously defeated once already. The bill would in part prevent parents from being contacted or having any say in the transing of their children by school or medical officials and would serve as a groomer protection measure.
The bill, LD227, is very similar to LD 1735, which was killed in the Judiciary Committee in January.
Republican critics of the bill are blasting the provisions as anti-family and anti-child.
"That is absolutely an assault, not just on parental rights, but on the democratic process itself."
Maine Republicans blast Democrats for keeping the revamped Transgender Trafficking bill a secret from the public until its public hearing day. pic.twitter.com/qlp0VeVU3T
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) March 11, 2024
The bill prohibits “interference” between parents and children if a child requests an abortion or wants to undergo “gender-affirming care,” according to Fox News.
If the latest iteration is passed, the law would give sweeping license to the transgendering of children and abortions for minors whether parents agree with the procedures or not. The bill additionally protects any minor who enters the state from outside and would cause Maine law enforcement to prevent parents from being able to influence their children’s medical care if those parents oppose so-called “gender-affirming” care.
The bill is so far-reaching that 16 Republican Attorneys General from other states filed a warning to the Maine legislature not to pass the bill.
The Republican AGs called the bill “unconstitutional” for taking away parental rights and for automatically taking children into state custody, no matter what state the children come from, Fox News reported.
“If Maine pursues LD 227’s constitutionally defective approach, we will vigorously avail ourselves of every recourse our Constitution provides,” the AGs wrote in their letter to the Maine legislature.
The bill would shield law enforcement, schools, hospitals, doctors, and Maine politicians from lawful actions issued in any other state, and would block any legal recourse for anyone living outside Maine.
The left-wing LGBTQ lobby is praising the bill. Patience Crozier, the director of family advocacy for GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), lauded Maine’s attempt to shield patients seeking transgender care in Maine.
“I think we’re seeing across the country really horrible attacks on transgender people and on health care, which means that parents can’t get the health care they need for their children—which means providers are worried they’re not able to practice their craft,” Crozier said according to WCSH-TV. “I think, in Maine, where reproductive and transgender health care is legal, this bill is really important to state the values of Maine and make sure that we’re protecting our providers from those attacks from other states.”
But one Maine parent, Amber Lavigne, who appeared at the Capitol in Augusta, worried that LD 1735 and bills like it summarily cancel parental rights.
Lavigne’s own daughter was groomed into believing she was a transgender boy by a radical gay school counselor who gave Lavigne’s child chest binders and told the girl not to tell her parents about her new “gender identity.”
In a video posted on X, Lavigne said that she complained to the school and the school responded by giving “guidance” to the counselor to pull back on the grooming behavior. But if LD 227 were to pass, Lavigne said, schools would be barred by law from mitigating grooming behavior or even talking to parents about the issue.
Maine Mom Amber Lavigne, whose daughter was given a secret chest binder by a school social worker, tells the Maine Wire that the revamped Transgender Trafficking Bill would prevent that social worker from receiving any disciplinary action. pic.twitter.com/iACARxpyLI
— The Maine Wire (@TheMaineWire) March 9, 2024
Critics of LD 227 also blasted the Democrats for using a trick to slide the bill into the legislature without giving lawmakers or voters a chance to see what is in it ahead of time.
The bill was not published ahead of its introduction, but was instead introduced as a “concept draft bill,” according to Maine Wire.
The text was then submitted after the committee began deliberating on it. The text can be seen here, but it still has not been officially published to Maine’s legislative website.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Facebook at: facebook.com/Warner.Todd.Huston, or Truth Social @WarnerToddHuston
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