LePage stymies law to protect LGBT students
AUGUSTA – Gov. Paul LePage is standing in the way of proposed rules to comply with a law requiring the protection of LGBT rights in Maine.
Those rules are required by the 2005 amendment to the Maine Human Rights Act, which enshrined into Maine law protection for LGBT Mainers. Rulemaking on provisions of the Act related to education were delayed until resolution of the landmark case of Nicole Maines, a transgender student in Orono who was barred from using the bathroom appropriate for her gender.
After the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Maines’ favor in 2013, rulemaking continued. The Department of Education and the Human Rights Commission in October delivered final rules to the governor regarding the protection of LGBT rights in Maine schools.
However, in an article in the Bangor Daily News, LePage said he was blocking the rules, leaving Maine schools without guidance and jeopardizing the safety and rights of LGBT students.
“The Maine Human Rights Act and all its protections are the law of the land,” said Sen. Rebecca Millett, the lead Senate Democrat on the Education Committee. “The state supreme court made that abundantly clear. For the governor to do anything that stands in the way of the protected rights of LGBT students is wrong. He needs to do the right thing and let these rules move forward.”
The rules were written by the Human Rights Commission, in partnership with the state Department of Education. In a normal process, these major, substantive rules would now receive a public hearing, as well as review, possible amendments and approval by the Legislature. However, LePage’s games are blocking them from moving forward.
“Gov. LePage needs to release these rules. We need to protect our students from discrimination and provide our schools with the information they need to comply with the laws of Maine,” said Rep. Tori Kornfield, D-Bangor, the House chair of the Education and Cultural Affairs Committee and a retired teacher who worked at Bangor High School for 30 years.
In the wake of LePage’s obstruction, the HRC has released guidelines to Maine schools, detailing how to comply with the Maine Human Rights Act. However, unlike rules, these guidelines do not carry the force of law.
“LGBTQ students in Maine have a right to these protections. Gov. LePage is standing in the way of their security and their access to an equal education. As elected officials, we have the duty to adopt a rule that includes and protects all Mainers,” said Rep. Matthea Daughtry, D-Brunswick, a committee member and co-chair of the Legislature’s Youth Caucus. “We need Gov. LePage to get on board. It’s disappointing that the governor would play games with the safety and well-being of our students.”
LePage has demonstrated hostility to the rights of transgender students before.
- As a gubernatorial candidate in 2010, LePage on a radio show voiced his opposition to legislation protecting the rights of transgender individuals. He said that he couldn’t understand “how people, at least sane people, would want to allow transgender in our primary schools and our high schools.”
- In December, LePage joined other Republicans in filing a brief in opposition to the the lawsuit of a transgender boy in Virginia challenging the school district’s restroom policy. “I’m appalled at the lack of parenting that child’s received. I’m appalled,” the governor said about the case.
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