Maine Lawmaker Censured Over Anti-Transgender Posting Drops Lawsuit Now That Rights Restored

A Maine lawmaker who was censured for posting the name and photo of a transgender athlete on social media has agreed to drop her lawsuit against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau.The state’s attorney general’s office called the case “moot” because Representative Laurel Libby’s voting and speaking rights have been restored and Libby has decided not to dispute the claim.The state’s Democrat-led House of Representatives stripped the Republican lawmaker of her power to speak on the House floor and her ability to vote on legislation in February after she refused to apologize for the post. Ms. Libby said she was being asked to recant her views.Ms. Libby’s post identified a trans athlete who had won the state girls’ championship for pole vaulting. She posted a follow-up saying the student had competed in the competition the previous year as a boy and taken fifth place.She says Mr. Fecteau called her the next day and asked her to take the post down. She declined, noting that no one from the athlete’s family had reached out to her about the post and that the athlete’s name had already been published in a newspaper report on the competition.Mr. Fecteau subsequently introduced the censure resolution. It passed 75-70 on a party-line vote. Unlike most states where censure is a minor infraction, Maine strips important privileges from censured members. Mr. Fecteau said the censure would be lifted if Ms. Libby simply apologized. Instead, she filed a federal lawsuit on March 11 to get the censure overturned, saying it left her constituents without a voice in the legislature. A U.S. district judge ruled against her on April 22 and an appeals court rejected her request for an expedited appeal to end the censure.In May, the U.S. Supreme Court granted an injunction overruling the decision that blocked Ms. Libby from carrying out her voting duties while the lawsuit over the censure played out. Ms. Libby was allowed to make procedural motions but she wasn’t allowed to engage in debate under the injunction.Last month, on the final day of the latest session, House assistant majority leader Lori Gramlich introduced a resolution to restore Ms. Libby’s full voting and speaking rights.The resolution “is not intended to absolve the representative’s actions,” Ms. Gramlich said on the House floor. “It only rescinds the restrictions on her voting and speaking privileges.” The resolution passed on a 115-16 vote.“The Democrats caved,” Ms. Libby said in a video she released on X after the vote. “The Democrats caved because they know that they are losing. They are losing in the court of public opinion, they are losing in the literal court, and they have to save face by restoring my rights.”The state attorney general’s office subsequently filed a letter with the First Circuit Court of Appeals arguing that the lawsuit was no longer relevant, Maine Public Radio reported.The appeals court asked Ms. Libby’s attorneys to respond to the letter and on Monday, she issued a statement saying she will not contest the state’s argument, Maine Morning Star reported. She also asked for the appeal to be dismissed.“I will not contest the AG’s mootness argument — but only because the constitutional rights of my constituents have now been restored and the leadership has formally abandoned the punishment they once insisted was justified,” Libby said. “That change didn’t come voluntarily. It came because we fought back — and we were winning.”Maine’s position on allowing transgender athletes to compete has gotten national attention. President Trump issued an executive order shortly after his inauguration requiring athletes to play on teams that coincide with the sex they were assigned at birth.He and Maine Governor Janet Mills sparred verbally over the issue during a White House public event in February. Trump told her she should comply with the executive order; Ms. Mills replied that her state would “comply with state and federal law” and said she would “see you in court.”“You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t,” Mr. Trump retorted.

Maine Lawmaker Censured Over Anti-Transgender Posting Drops Lawsuit Now That Rights Restored

Maine Lawmaker Censured Over Anti-Transgender Posting Drops Lawsuit Now That Rights Restored

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