LePage at odds with Maine liberals over transgender lawsuit

Augusta, Maine (AP) — A top Maine Democratic leader and the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine have lambasted Republican Governor Paul LePage for joining a lawsuit about transgender rights on behalf of himself.

A group of states is suing the Obama administration over its directive to public schools to let transgender students use the bathrooms and locker rooms that match their gender identity.

The lawsuit, announced on Wednesday, asks a North Texas federal court to declare the directive unlawful. It includes Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, Arizona, Louisiana, Utah and Georgia.

Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland said states that have passed discriminatory policies — like Indiana and North Carolina — have "invited boycotts and damaged their state's reputations." Alfond said LePage is on the "wrong side of history."

LePage's spokeswoman defended his action: "The President is dictating by fiat and Governors are pushing back."

In an email, spokeswoman Adrienne Bennett mentioned the "devastating effect" of new federal overtime laws. She claimed the Obama administration "threatened" to use "unilateral authority" to designate a new national monument in the Katahdin region.

Bennett and spokesman Peter Steele did not respond to a request to speak to LePage himself.

Maine Attorney General spokesman Tim Feeley said LePage would have needed approval if he entered the lawsuit on behalf of the state. LePage is the only governor named in the lawsuit.

Alison Beyea, executive director of the ACLU of Maine, questioned whether LePage even has the authority to join the lawsuit.

In a 2005 referendum, Maine voters upheld a statewide law banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, including gender identity. And in 2014, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled in favor of an Orono transgender student barred from using a bathroom appropriate for her gender.

In February, LePage said that under the 2014 court ruling, the legislature needs to pass a law before state agencies can issue rules protecting transgender students. The legislature did not act on the issue, and the agencies released guidelines to schools.

In December, LePage signed onto a brief asking a Virginia federal court to block a lawsuit filed by a transgender boy against his school district's bathroom policy.

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The Gayly – May 26, 2016 @ 8 a.m.