Republican-Led States Ask Supreme Court To Block Censure of Maine Lawmaker Over Anti-Transgender Athlete Post on Social Media

More than a dozen Republican-led states are backing a Maine lawmaker who is censured after posting the first name and photo of a transgender athlete on social media. The state representative, Laurel Libby, is asking the Supreme Court to get involved, claiming her first Amendment rights are being violated.The speaker of the Maine house of representatives in February stripped Ms. Libby, who has been an outspoken opponent of allowing transgender athletes to compete, of her power to speak on the house floor and her ability to vote on legislation until she apologized for the post. She has refused and says she’s being asked to recant her views. “I will not be silenced,” Ms. Libby says.The attorneys general of West Virginia and 14 other states filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on Thursday supporting Ms. Libby and asking justices to grant an injunction in a case Ms. Libby filed over her censure. “The principle that members can’t be unilaterally stripped of voting rights has been recognized through all of our nation’s existence,” the brief states.Maine’s attorney general has filed new paperwork asking the Supreme Court to not get involved with the case. The state claims Ms. Libby put the athlete’s safety at risk and simply needs to apologize. “Rep. Libby has steadfastly refused to comply with this modest punishment, which is designed to restore the integrity and reputation of the body,” Maine’s attorney general, Aaron Frey, writes.The events started unfolding on February 18, when Ms. Libby posted a photo on X and identified a trans athlete who won the state girls championship for pole vaulting. She posted a follow-up stating that the student had competed in the competition the previous year as a boy and took fifth place.Ms. Libby said the house speaker called her the next day and asked her to take down the post. She noted that no one from the athlete’s family had reached out to her about the post, and the athlete’s name was already published in the newspaper as part of a recap of the competition.After she refused, the speaker introduced a 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 members. Ms. Libby filed a federal lawsuit on March 11 to get the censure overturned and says it is leaving her constituents without a voice in the legislature. A United States district judge ruled against her on April 22 and an appeals court rejected her appeal. Now it’s up to the Supreme Court to decide if it wants to get involved.Maine’s position on allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports 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.Mr. Trump and Governor Mills got into a verbal spat over the during a public event at the White House in February. He warned her about complying with the executive order. Ms. Mills replied by telling the president that her state would “comply with state and federal law” and that 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 replied.The Department of Agriculture then suspended funds for child nutrition programs in Maine schools. The state sued but dropped the lawsuit after the USDA agreed to restore funding.

Republican-Led States Ask Supreme Court To Block Censure of Maine Lawmaker Over Anti-Transgender Athlete Post on Social Media

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