Maine is cracking down on discrimination against us... and it will lead right to the Supreme Court!
Bangor Daily Newsby Daniel O'ConnorDecember 2, 2025School boards that have bucked Maine’s legal protections for transgender students are making quick decisions after a Maine regulator filed a lawsuit against five of them last month.After news of the suit from the state’s Human Rights Commission broke last month, at least two school boards are set to discuss their next steps. One could move as soon as this week to overturn its policy and adhere to state law. Other districts in conservative areas of the state could dig in for the battle ahead.The scrambling school districts are responding to only one layer in a complex legal battle. President Donald Trump’s administration has sued Maine and other states with similar protections in their civil rights law, but a pair of cases in front of the U.S. Supreme Court are already in motion and could have large effects on the wrangling here.
Trump has embolden the conservative towns in Manie to buck the state law!
The debate centers on Title IX, which bars sex discrimination by schools receiving federal money. Trump, a Republican, says that law protects single-sex sports and spaces without regard to gender identity, and that transgender students ought to participate only alongside those sharing their birth sex or on co-ed teams.Maine law considers such a ban illegal discrimination, which has led the federal government to sue the state. That court fight is not likely to render a decision until late in 2026. The Supreme Court cases out of Idaho and West Virginia could be decided sooner.In January, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Little v. Hecox and West Virginia v. B.P.J., a pair of cases dealing specifically with whether bans on allowing transgender athletes on sports teams that align with their gender identities violate Title IX and the Constitution.
The showdown is set. Our very existence will depend how nine people rule.
The state has weighed in on the Supreme Court cases alongside several other Democratic-led states. Attorney General Aaron Frey signed onto an amicus brief alongside 15 other attorneys general last month. Frey’s office declined to comment on the brief.“Allowing transgender girls and women to participate in girls’ and women’s sports promotes inclusive school environments that benefit all, and does not compromise fairness or reduce opportunities for cisgender students,” the brief said.
The bottom line for the Republicans is that they think being LGBTQ+ is a choice, suggesting that one might deliberately choose discrimination, violence, and even death: "Gee, I think that I will be gay, so I can be discriminated against, beaten up, and killed—that sounds like so much fun!" Clearly, they do not believe that being LGBTQ+ is an inborn characteristic.
This perspective, which fuels the modern Republican party's stance on LGBTQ+ issues, seems to be an attempt to return to a past era—one characterized by stricter social codes, like those evoked by "Father Knows Best," and the existence of segregation and anti-gay laws. This is a common and accurate description of the current political dynamic.
Ultimately, this conflict is at the heart of the debate surrounding LGBTQ+ issues, especially transgender rights. The Republicans systematically reject the scientific and medical consensus in favor of a worldview rooted in traditional religious and conservative moral dogma.
All but one person spoke out in defense of transgender rights. The lone dissenter was not a town resident.Midcoast VillagerBy Stephen BettsNov 20, 2025Parents, grandparents, and students turned out to speak up for the rights of transgender students during a School Board meeting Wednesday night, Nov. 19, amidst a controversy over a third-grade student whom some parents want to ban from sports.All but one person spoke out in defense of transgender rights. The lone dissenter was a resident of South Thomaston, not St. George.The outpouring came after weeks of controversy in the small town of about 2,600 after several parents told the Select Board they do not want a student, who was identified as male at birth but now identifies as female, playing on a girls third and fourth grade basketball team. A petition to bar transgender students from youth sports has been circulating online as well. The petition also called for eliminating the school's civil rights team, banning books that deal with gender issues in ways deemed inappropriate and for restricting certain flags, such as the LGBT rainbow flags. No such petition has yet been presented to the school district.
The people are behind us!
The Supreme Court cases Little v. Hecox (challenging Idaho's "Fairness in Women's Sports Act") and West Virginia v. B.P.J. (challenging West Virginia's "Save Women's Sports Act") they will be decisive to our human rights. The conflict boils down to inclusive vs. exclusive.
The Republican view is that sex is only the external characteristics at birth. They don’t look at other factors… like chromosomes, Alpha-5-reductase deficiency, AIS or any other medical condition. And the Republican view totally ignores intersex people when they say that there are only two genders.
While the states look at Title IX as being inclusive. That being trans is an "innate characteristic" that is a quality or trait that is present from birth, meaning it is inborn, natural, and not learned.
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