Maine state representative Laurel Libby has had her speaking rights restored by fellow lawmakers following a five-month censure for identifying a trans athlete. The Supreme Court previously restored her voting rights in May, but her speaking rights were still withheld. Libby’s censure was initially passed on February 25, but her lawsuit against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau and the growing public opposition against trans athletes in girls’ sports led to her recent reinstatement.
Libby stated that she was unaware of her speaking rights being restored until near the end of the legislative session when she was preparing to adjourn. House assistant majority leader Lori Gramlich proposed a resolution to restore her full voting and speaking rights, which passed by a vote of 115-16. Libby believes the resolution was influenced by the momentum of her lawsuit and the increasing public opposition to trans inclusion in girls’ sports.
She argues that Democrats are losing public support on this issue, as evidenced by a survey showing 63% of Maine voters support restricting women’s sports to biological women. Many school districts in Maine have also opposed state policies on trans athletes, further fueling the debate over participation in girls’ sports. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that requires states to allow only females to compete, but multiple Democrat-run states, including Maine, have defied the order. The U.S. Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi have even filed their own separate lawsuit against the state of Maine for continuing to defy the order.
Libby has been a central figure in the conservative pushback against Democrat policies that enable trans inclusion in girls’ sports in Maine. In addition to her lawsuit against Fecteau, Libby has been repeatedly critical of Mills for her refusal to comply with Trump. It started when she made a Facebook post that identified a trans athlete who won a girls’ pole vault competition for Greely High School in February, prompting pushback from Democrats in the state who criticized her for identifying a minor, which was the main premise of her censure. However, she and her attorneys argued that the trans athlete had already been publicized in other media.
The same trans athlete then skipped the spring track and field state championships earlier in June. A survey by the American Parents Coalition found that out of about 600 registered Maine voters, 63% said that school sports participation should be based on biological sex, and 66% agreed it is ‘only fair to restrict women’s sports to biological women.’
Many Maine residents and entire school districts have stood up against Mills’ policies alongside Libby. Maine’s school districts RSU No. 24 and MSAD No. 70 have each passed their own localized resolutions to keep girls’ spots for female students only. There have also been three large-scale protests against the current policies in the state’s capital city, Augusta, since February.