Maine state rep appeals censure ruling after her public defense of fairness in girls’ sports

Maine state Rep. Laurel Libby filed an emergency appeal with the First Circuit Court of Appeals this week in response to another ruling upholding her censure in the Maine House of Representatives, Fox News reports.

The Democrat-controlled chamber censured Libby, R-Auburn, for her Facebook post chastising a transgender-identifying high school girls’ track athlete who won two state titles in February. Due to the censure, the lawmaker cannot vote on legislation or speak on the House floor.

Instead of apologizing for her post, which would restore her voting and speaking privileges, Libby filed a lawsuit against House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, D-Biddeford. However, Biden-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Melissa DuBose of the District of Rhode Island ruled against her last week.

“Our appeal asks the court to correct this abuse of power,” Libby said in a statement, “and reaffirm that legislative leadership cannot use procedural maneuvers and sweeping assertions of immunity to sideline dissenting voices and disenfranchise entire communities.

“I remain optimistic that the court will recognize what is plainly at stake: the integrity of representative government and the foundational principle that no elected official, no legislative leader, and no partisan majority is above the Constitution.” 

The 9,000 residents of her district “currently have no voice and no vote in the Maine House of Representatives.” 

“I’m grateful for the support of my constituents and so many others across Maine who understand the importance of speaking truth and standing firm,” Libby said. “I will continue to press forward until the voices of the people I was elected to represent are heard once again in Augusta.” 

Her move comes as the Trump administration is in its own legal battle with Maine. 

The U.S. Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit against the Pine Tree State for violating the president’s executive order banning males from women’s interscholastic sports. 

The order directs federal agencies to withhold funding from states and schools that let male transgender athletes compete in women’s sports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture tried withholding non-essential funding from Maine, but a federal judge ruled that the administration must unfreeze it. 

The federal government has withheld money from the University of Maine and the state’s Corrections Department over its transgender policies.