Maine's LD 1046 Goes Down To Defeat!

Score one for Nicole and the Maine trans community.  Rep. Ken Fredette's (R-Newport) anti-trans LD 1046 went down in flames today.

The unjust bill designed to mess with trans Mainers was soundly defeated in the Maine House on a 81-51 vote which saw 15 Republicans join the Democratic minority in defeating the bill in a late Tuesday night vote.  

Rep. Charlie Priest (D-Brunswick) said the individuals "don't want to stand out," they only want to be accepted by the gender they identify with.   "It is a bad idea to unravel the Maine Human Rights Act in response to an unjustified fear," Priest said.

House Democratic Leader Emily Cain (D-Orono) where Nicole used to live, applauded the vote.   

"Passing this bill in any form , whether in the original form, the committee- amended form or any other form would be a step backwards for Maine and would put an obstacle in front of many people who are simply trying to get to work , go to school and participate like everyone else in our communities/"


Fredette tried to take it to the GOP controlled Maine Senate, where it went down on a 23-11 vote    Sen. Phil Bartlett (D-Gorham) called Fredette's bill mean spirited, potentially discriminatory and unworkable.

Thank you Maine legislature.   Too bad Kenneth Fredette doesn't get that.

Transteen Standing Up For Her Rights In Maine

Ken Fredette was a dissenting vote on the Maine Human Rights Commission when it ruled a transteen was discriminated against at her middle school.

Now Representative Ken Fredette (R) has penned LD 1046, a bathroom bill that says unless otherwise specified, rest rooms, showers and locker rooms designated for one biological sex are restricted to that biological sex.   

Trans people under Fredette's bathroom bill who were denied access to those facilities would also have their ability to claim discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act taken away since there have been two rulings in favor of transpeople over this issue that Fredette was on the losing end of.

And Nicole, the child the MHRC ruled in favor of last year is fighting this unjust bill along with her family.  In addition to her father's testimony against the bill, she has done her part to be an agent for her own liberation by lobbying Maine's lawmakers.

She has this to say about the unjust bill.

"I think that what I want lawmakers to know is that bill, first of all, makes absolutely no sense," Nicole said in an interview. "It's pointless, I think, because you're not going to know if a person's trans, unless they tell you.  So it needs to be stopped where it is before anything like this gets out of hand."


And a little child shall lead them.     Go get 'em Nicole!

Mainers, why don't you help this youngling out?  Call, fax or e-mail your legislators and tell them to vote NO on LD 1046.

Nicole, her family and the entire trans community of Maine would deeply appreciate that.

Maine's LD 1046 Has Heated Debate

LD 1046, the anti trans bill that seeks to overturn favorable Maine Human Rights Commission rulings on bathroom access issues, underwent a public hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee and an overflow crowd yesterday in Augusta

The bill was penned by Republican freshman Rep. Ken Fredette, who was a member of the Maine Human Rights commission when the two trans bathroom rights cases were favorably ruled on.

Fredette stated his bill would prevent the Maine Human Rights Commission from being able to find that public and private entities discriminate when they force trans people to use restrooms that are opposite of their gender identity and presentation.    This would prevent trans people from suing, as the people in the Orono schools and Denny’s situations did, Fredette argued.

“The concept here is there is not an absolute right for a transgender to go into the bathroom they identify with,” Fredette said in front of the overflowing crowd Tuesday. “We have to draw lines in this society so we balance rights with the rights of everyone else.”

My people have the right to pee in the gender appropriate restroom, Rep. Fredette.

Fredette's opinion is thankfully a minority one that is hopefully shared by other legislators on the Judiciary Committee.   According to the Bangor Daily News, of the approximately  four hours of testimony given in Tuesday's hearing, only 30 minutes of it was taken up by people in favor of Fredette's unjust bill.

Unfortunately one of the people in favor of it is Maine's Tea Klux Klan Governor Paul LePage.    The Maine Civil Liberties Union and several other organizations spoke in opposition to it. 

The bill is still pending in the Judiciary Committee.

Kill The Maine Anti-Trans LD 1046

Now that HB 235 is dead, here's the next anti-trans bill that needs to die.   It's LD 1046, written by a freshman Republifool named Ken Fredette that seeks to overturn a favorable Maine Human Rights Commission ruling and make bathroom discrimination aimed at transpeople legal. 

If this bill does get out of the Maine Legislature, it will have a transphobic governor in Paul LePage willing to sign it.   LePage has made it quite clear he opposes trans civil rights in addition to hatin' on unions and the NAACP..


Of course the local Maine trans community is mobilizing to kill it.   If they tell us they need help, I'll be happy to provide it when they ask.    For now, let's get the word out that an anti-trans bill needs to be killed in Maine.