The ballot initiative is bankrolled by billionaire anti-trans donor, Richard Uihlein, and represents a new line of attack against transgender people in blue states.
If his name looks familiar, it's because he's the owner of the massive box manufacture/packaging company ULINE. Not only is he anti-trans, he's also virulently white supremacist/racist, anti-LGBTQ, and anti just about any minority group. Add ULINE to your boycott list and tell all your local small business owners to not buy their products, either.
Billionaires were a mistake. Nobody should have unfettered power to conduct this kind of attack on the rights of an entire demographic, but that's exactly what having so much wealth at your fingertips permits you to do. Propaganda works, if it has enough of a platform, and if you can write six, seven, or eight-figure checks as if you were dropping a few quarters in a vending machine, you can buy a very big platform indeed.
It is very unfortunate that this is advancing toward the ballot in our state, and it is just one of several examples of right-wing out-of-state organizations funding ballot initiatives and election campaigns in Maine. We will have to work hard to campaign against this when it appears on the ballot in November (as it likely will make it to that stage). The problem then becomes overcoming the misinformation campaign that will accompany it. We saw this last year, when a ballot initiative that would have greatly restricted absentee voting was advertised as a simple bill to only require you to show an ID at the polls. (It was soundly defeated. Maine people tend to pay attention if they can be adequately informed.) I have no doubt that this will be advertised as a "keep men out of girls sports" issue and no mention will be made of the restroom part of it.
It never ceases to amaze me how people are able to completely ignore the evidence that repeatedly shows trans people being in no way a threat to either sports or bathroom use. The manipulation taking place makes this sound like a holy war, in that all evidence is ruled out in order to adhere to the stated dogma. We saw it in the general public's acceptance of the "jewish threat", we saw it in the Cultural Revolution of Mao's China, we saw it in the killing fields of Cambodia and now its coming to a legislature near you. We keep repeating the statistics and showing the world how unthreatening we are, but it falls on deaf ears when it hits those adherents of Project 25, of Turning Point USA, and of the crowd of bigots headed by Nancy Mace, Erika Kirk, Richard Uihlein, J.K. Rowling, J.D. Vance, Pete Hegseth, our embarrassment in the White House and nearly the entire Republican Party.
Rich people do nothing for free. These savages are benefiting in many ways from attacking us, and we won’t be able to stop them until we can prevent transphobia from being so lucrative for them
Causing them to waste tons of money on failed anti-trans campaigns is a good step!
Question: Is a gender marker on birth certificates a requirement by law? If a new parent, who knows of the many possibilities of a persons gender expressin, could someone request that part of the certificate remain blank?
I would suggest that basing it on observation of the body and/or a DNA test is still valid, the vast majority of people are not trans, but the corollary to that would be that there should be a way for trans individuals to have it changed to their identified sex or nonbinary, so that their driver's license/ID card and passport, etc., would properly reflect their identity. Once we have all of that in place, nationwide, we can be satisfied that the original birth certificate won't be the only determining document, and these phobes can go somewhere.
For fuck's sake we just want to pee. And some of us would like to play sports. What is so screwed up in these people's heads that makes them think this is a good ideas? Also, Americans are tired of all the anti-trans BS. So many of these initiatives have lost horribly. So many candidates who run on anti-trans issues have lost horribly. So why do they keep doing this and why the hell do they care so much?
Sadly, ballot initiatives based on common biases have proven successful over the years. I remember well in the 00's as marriage definition ballot initiatives were approved comfortably even in blue states. The legislature might consider taking a page out of conservatives' playbook and offering up an alternative ballot measure to appear alongside of the signature-gathered one. When voters gathered enough signtures for a ballot initiative preserving abortion rights here in Nebraska in 2024, conservatives proposed an alternative measure that maintained the status quo ban while falsely appearing to be a reasonable middle-ground compromise. Phrased strategically, an alternative ballot measure in Maine could preserve trans rights to sports and restrooms by appearing as a reasonable alternative to the blanket ban proposed by the signature-gathered measure when compared side by side.
The debate over so-called “Protect Girls’ Sports” legislation is not simply cultural or political — it raises serious constitutional and civil rights questions that voters and educators must examine carefully.
This proposal has reportedly received financial backing from national donors, including Richard Uihlein, while opposition has been voiced by Janet Mills, civil rights organizations, educators, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
At its core, the legal concern centers on whether excluding transgender students from participation in school sports consistent with their gender identity violates established protections under federal law and the Constitution.
Constitutional Framework
1. Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)
The Equal Protection Clause prohibits states from denying any person equal protection of the laws. Courts have increasingly recognized discrimination against transgender individuals as a form of sex-based discrimination.
When a law singles out a specific group for exclusion, courts apply heightened scrutiny. The state must demonstrate that the law serves an important governmental objective and is substantially related to achieving that objective. Critics argue that broad bans may struggle to meet this constitutional standard.
2. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Title IX prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex” in federally funded educational programs.
Recent federal court decisions and agency interpretations have recognized that discrimination based on gender identity can fall under sex discrimination protections. Policies that categorically exclude transgender students from athletics may conflict with Title IX obligations, potentially placing schools at risk of federal investigation or litigation.
3. Due Process Concerns
Policies requiring intrusive verification of a student’s sex raise privacy and bodily autonomy concerns under the Due Process Clause. Courts have recognized that students retain constitutional privacy rights within public schools.
4. Fiscal and Institutional Risk
Several states that passed similar legislation have faced immediate legal challenges, injunctions, and significant taxpayer-funded defense costs. Educators and school districts may find themselves caught between state law and federal civil rights enforcement.
Educational and Civic Implications
Public schools exist to provide opportunity, belonging, and equal access. Policies that focus on exclusion rather than inclusion risk:
Undermining student mental health
Creating hostile educational environments
Diverting resources to litigation rather than instruction
Deepening community division
This issue ultimately demands careful constitutional scrutiny. Laws affecting children must be rooted in evidence, fairness, and respect for established civil rights protections.
THE PEOPLE OF MAINE MUST RALLEY TO DEFEAT THIS BILL
All of this Project 2025 et al conspiracy to make us a right-wing dictatorship is a pathetic attempt, by some of the worst people in human history, to have their way, at best they'd get a civil war they would lose as a result. Fortunately, there is a silver lining to come.
If his name looks familiar, it's because he's the owner of the massive box manufacture/packaging company ULINE. Not only is he anti-trans, he's also virulently white supremacist/racist, anti-LGBTQ, and anti just about any minority group. Add ULINE to your boycott list and tell all your local small business owners to not buy their products, either.
Bigotry is subject to Crank Magnetism- just like conspiracy theories, once you've bought into one kind of bigotry, other kinds are sure to follow.
Billionaires were a mistake. Nobody should have unfettered power to conduct this kind of attack on the rights of an entire demographic, but that's exactly what having so much wealth at your fingertips permits you to do. Propaganda works, if it has enough of a platform, and if you can write six, seven, or eight-figure checks as if you were dropping a few quarters in a vending machine, you can buy a very big platform indeed.
It is very unfortunate that this is advancing toward the ballot in our state, and it is just one of several examples of right-wing out-of-state organizations funding ballot initiatives and election campaigns in Maine. We will have to work hard to campaign against this when it appears on the ballot in November (as it likely will make it to that stage). The problem then becomes overcoming the misinformation campaign that will accompany it. We saw this last year, when a ballot initiative that would have greatly restricted absentee voting was advertised as a simple bill to only require you to show an ID at the polls. (It was soundly defeated. Maine people tend to pay attention if they can be adequately informed.) I have no doubt that this will be advertised as a "keep men out of girls sports" issue and no mention will be made of the restroom part of it.
😢😵💫🤬
It never ceases to amaze me how people are able to completely ignore the evidence that repeatedly shows trans people being in no way a threat to either sports or bathroom use. The manipulation taking place makes this sound like a holy war, in that all evidence is ruled out in order to adhere to the stated dogma. We saw it in the general public's acceptance of the "jewish threat", we saw it in the Cultural Revolution of Mao's China, we saw it in the killing fields of Cambodia and now its coming to a legislature near you. We keep repeating the statistics and showing the world how unthreatening we are, but it falls on deaf ears when it hits those adherents of Project 25, of Turning Point USA, and of the crowd of bigots headed by Nancy Mace, Erika Kirk, Richard Uihlein, J.K. Rowling, J.D. Vance, Pete Hegseth, our embarrassment in the White House and nearly the entire Republican Party.
Rich people do nothing for free. These savages are benefiting in many ways from attacking us, and we won’t be able to stop them until we can prevent transphobia from being so lucrative for them
Causing them to waste tons of money on failed anti-trans campaigns is a good step!
Question: Is a gender marker on birth certificates a requirement by law? If a new parent, who knows of the many possibilities of a persons gender expressin, could someone request that part of the certificate remain blank?
I would love an answer to this as well.
I would suggest that basing it on observation of the body and/or a DNA test is still valid, the vast majority of people are not trans, but the corollary to that would be that there should be a way for trans individuals to have it changed to their identified sex or nonbinary, so that their driver's license/ID card and passport, etc., would properly reflect their identity. Once we have all of that in place, nationwide, we can be satisfied that the original birth certificate won't be the only determining document, and these phobes can go somewhere.
Ban billionaires, not trans people.
I wish we could get ads running about how expensive these laws are when the grocery prices are still up.
For fuck's sake we just want to pee. And some of us would like to play sports. What is so screwed up in these people's heads that makes them think this is a good ideas? Also, Americans are tired of all the anti-trans BS. So many of these initiatives have lost horribly. So many candidates who run on anti-trans issues have lost horribly. So why do they keep doing this and why the hell do they care so much?
Abolish billionaires. Tax them until they become millionaires.
Thanks for this report.
The brave governor and the good people of Maine, and that is most of the residents, will not let this cruel and stupid ballot initiative pass.
Sadly, ballot initiatives based on common biases have proven successful over the years. I remember well in the 00's as marriage definition ballot initiatives were approved comfortably even in blue states. The legislature might consider taking a page out of conservatives' playbook and offering up an alternative ballot measure to appear alongside of the signature-gathered one. When voters gathered enough signtures for a ballot initiative preserving abortion rights here in Nebraska in 2024, conservatives proposed an alternative measure that maintained the status quo ban while falsely appearing to be a reasonable middle-ground compromise. Phrased strategically, an alternative ballot measure in Maine could preserve trans rights to sports and restrooms by appearing as a reasonable alternative to the blanket ban proposed by the signature-gathered measure when compared side by side.
The debate over so-called “Protect Girls’ Sports” legislation is not simply cultural or political — it raises serious constitutional and civil rights questions that voters and educators must examine carefully.
This proposal has reportedly received financial backing from national donors, including Richard Uihlein, while opposition has been voiced by Janet Mills, civil rights organizations, educators, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
At its core, the legal concern centers on whether excluding transgender students from participation in school sports consistent with their gender identity violates established protections under federal law and the Constitution.
Constitutional Framework
1. Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment)
The Equal Protection Clause prohibits states from denying any person equal protection of the laws. Courts have increasingly recognized discrimination against transgender individuals as a form of sex-based discrimination.
When a law singles out a specific group for exclusion, courts apply heightened scrutiny. The state must demonstrate that the law serves an important governmental objective and is substantially related to achieving that objective. Critics argue that broad bans may struggle to meet this constitutional standard.
2. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972
Title IX prohibits discrimination “on the basis of sex” in federally funded educational programs.
Recent federal court decisions and agency interpretations have recognized that discrimination based on gender identity can fall under sex discrimination protections. Policies that categorically exclude transgender students from athletics may conflict with Title IX obligations, potentially placing schools at risk of federal investigation or litigation.
3. Due Process Concerns
Policies requiring intrusive verification of a student’s sex raise privacy and bodily autonomy concerns under the Due Process Clause. Courts have recognized that students retain constitutional privacy rights within public schools.
4. Fiscal and Institutional Risk
Several states that passed similar legislation have faced immediate legal challenges, injunctions, and significant taxpayer-funded defense costs. Educators and school districts may find themselves caught between state law and federal civil rights enforcement.
Educational and Civic Implications
Public schools exist to provide opportunity, belonging, and equal access. Policies that focus on exclusion rather than inclusion risk:
Undermining student mental health
Creating hostile educational environments
Diverting resources to litigation rather than instruction
Deepening community division
This issue ultimately demands careful constitutional scrutiny. Laws affecting children must be rooted in evidence, fairness, and respect for established civil rights protections.
THE PEOPLE OF MAINE MUST RALLEY TO DEFEAT THIS BILL
All of this Project 2025 et al conspiracy to make us a right-wing dictatorship is a pathetic attempt, by some of the worst people in human history, to have their way, at best they'd get a civil war they would lose as a result. Fortunately, there is a silver lining to come.
Anyone who votes to revoke the civil rights of others will richly deserve their diminishment when their turn comes.