Gov. LePage Joins Anti-Transgender Lawsuit

AUGUSTA – Gov. LePage disregarded the will of Maine people and the rule of law today, when he joined a lawsuit challenging President Obama’s guidance on the rights of transgender students to use the correct bathroom.

The Maine Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination against people based on their gender identity or expression. In 2014, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled that, under the MHRA, transgender students must be allowed to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

The following can be attributed to Alison Beyea, executive director of the ACLU of Maine:

“Gov. LePage is trying to legalize discrimination and roll back equality that has been in place for years. He is ignoring the will of Maine people.

“This is yet another example of the governor acting like he is above the law and like the separation of powers doesn’t apply to him. It is unlikely he even has the authority to join this lawsuit, and he certainly doesn’t have the authority to join on behalf of the state of Maine.

“We should all be concerned that the governor is spending his time interfering in issues that don’t involve our state. Maine law has included protections for transgender students for a decade, and this lawsuit won’t change that.”